Lawsuit says construction firms cut corners, causing Boise Airport hangar collapse

Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Late successful nan day connected Jan. 31, building workers Mariano Coc and Mario Sontay were 40 feet successful nan air, successful nan handbasket of an aerial assistance astatine nan building tract of a caller hangar astatine nan Boise Airport.

Suddenly, nan hangar collapsed, and a falling rafter caught nan limb of their lift, according to a caller lawsuit. Both men, building workers from Guatemala, were “slammed into nan ground,” according to nan lawsuit.

Coc, 24, was killed instantly. Sontay, 32, survived astir 5 minutes aft impact. Craig Durrant, 1 of nan owners of Big D Builders, nan wide contractor for nan project, was decapitated arsenic he tried to fly nan collapsing structure. Nine different workers were injured.

Mario Sontay, 32, left, and Mariano Coc, 24, were 2 of nan group killed successful nan illness of a hangar astatine nan Boise Airport. | Courtesy Serna & Associates

Enrique Serna, nan lawyer representing Coc’s and Sontay’s families, blamed nan illness connected nan building companies involved: Big D Builders, Steel Building Systems, Inland Crane and Speck Steel.

Big D Builders, which is based successful Meridian, said nan institution “disputes nan allegations listed successful nan complaint.” Spokesperson John Segale said nan institution would not remark further because of nan pending litigation.

Inland Crane, which is based successful Boise, said “all grounds demonstrates that Inland Crane and our labor are not astatine responsibility for this tragedy.” Spokesperson Doug Self said nan institution is assured that “the judicial process will exonerate Inland Crane and our employees.”

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LAWSUIT CITES ‘BOWING BEAMS, SNAPPING CABLES’

The suit Serna revenge Tuesday makes 3 main accusations:

• In an effort to velocity up construction, nan companies modified building blueprints, causing a “significant reduction” successful structural support. They did not get these modifications approved by nan metropolis of Boise.
• The companies manufactured their ain “rushed” and “improperly and poorly welded” materials for nan structure’s bracing, alternatively than utilizing parts that matched nan prefabricated alloy structure.
• The companies allowed activity astatine nan tract to proceed connected Jan. 31 contempt workers’ reports of “bowing beams” and “snapping cables” a time earlier, and contempt precocious winds connected Jan. 31 that created vulnerable conditions for operating cranes.

“Rather than extremity activity astatine nan hangar tract to guarantee everyone’s safety, each defendants pressed on,” nan suit says.

The hangar that collapsed adjacent nan Boise Airport successful January was being demolished successful June 2024. | Sarah A. Miller, Idaho Statesman

The suit did not mention nan metropolis of Boise aliases its contracted engineering firm, AHJ Engineers, though Serna had accused some of approving deficient building plans successful a tort claim revenge against nan metropolis successful May. After reviewing nationalist records Serna’s patient requested from nan city, nan patient decided nary suit against those entities was warranted, Serma said Wednesday astatine a property conference.

RELATED | Families of hangar illness victims put metropolis of Boise ‘on notice’ of imaginable lawsuit

The suit reflects only nan findings of Serna’s firm, he said. The consequence of an investigation by nan national Occupational Safety and Health Administration to find nan causes of nan illness is expected successful precocious July.

HANGAR VICTIMS WERE ‘FOLLOWING ORDERS’

Coc and Sontay, labor of Big D Builders, had worked astatine nan hangar tract only for a fewer days earlier nan collapse, according to nan suit. They were asked to activity location to thief velocity up nan project, which was “significantly delayed,” nan suit said.

Serna sued connected behalf of nan men’s widows, mothers, fathers, children and siblings. Both men sent their families successful Guatemala money “on a regular and predominant basis,” according to nan suit, and their families “depended connected (them) financially.”

Both men “were pursuing orders, conscionable for illustration bully husbands and fathers that were sending money, that were paying nan bills, that were sending money to mom, dad, sister, brothers,” Serna said. They “were virtually raising a colony arsenic a consequence of their efforts.”

The suit did not petition a circumstantial magnitude of money. In nan May tort claim, Serna wrote that their families were seeking $30 million.

“At nan due time, plaintiffs will activity to amend this title to adhd a declare for punitive damages,” nan suit reads.

RELATED | Safety grounds of contractor for Boise collapsed hangar surfaces arsenic OSHA investigates

In a February news conference, Serna shared much specifications astir nan men.

“They were very bully astatine their trade,” he said then. “They were very happy successful Idaho. They utilized to spell to nan Chevron position by nan airdrome to get their greeting java en way to building this hangar … They were surviving nan American Dream.”

Serna connected Wednesday laid nan families’ condolences astatine nan building firms’ feet.

“These wide contractors person been astir nan block,” he said. “They build a batch of buildings successful Idaho and successful nan Northwest. This is not their first rodeo. They cognize amended (than) to enactment for illustration this. A batch of nan time, they conscionable deliberation that it’s going to beryllium OK, and that’s worrisome … My clients are dead. Their families are mourning. Are they going to proceed these practices? Are we going to suffer much group successful nan future?”