The Indiana State Fair collapse stage was an incident during August 13, 2011, an outdoor concert by Sugarland at the Indiana State Fair where a gust of wind from a severe storm approached the roof structure whilst tempting the stage, causing it to collapse. The structure landed in a crowd of spectators, killing seven people and wounding 58 others.
Sugarland members were on a tour bus preparing to arrive on stage when the collapse occurred at 08.46. The opening act Sara Bareilles has completed his appearance before the incident.
Video Indiana State Fair stage collapse
Events leading to collapse
Discussions about event delays
Throughout the day and night of the concert, the National Weather Service issued notice and warnings that predicted a strong storm. The message about the forecast was delivered to various State Fair personnel via an automated text messaging system.
At 8:00, Cindy Hoye, Executive Director of the Indiana Fair Commission, held a meeting to discuss what the weather forecast effects at 8:45 am. start time for Sugarland show. The meeting members were told that the storm was expected to arrive at 9:15 pm, 30 minutes after the concert began. Hoye wants to postpone the show until the weather passes.
An official brought this message to the managers of Sugarland, who said they would prefer to continue the show as scheduled and stop only if the weather conditions worsen. Managers only know about rain, not lightning, wind, and expected hail. They decided to start the show just 5 minutes late (08:50) to allow band time to warm up.
When the band's decision returns to Director Hoye, he accepts, assuming the band has the final decision. Because the storm will arrive around 9:15 pm, there is still time for them to do some shows.
Evacuation announcements and concert cancellations
At about 8:30 am, Director Hoye meets Brad Weaver State Captain. Weaver worried that the approaching weather would pose a threat to public safety, and recommended that Hoye cancel the show. He also recommended that they devise an evacuation plan for the crowd. Hoye directs his staff to make evacuation preparations.
At 8:39 pm, the National Weather Service issued a lightning warning indicating that hail with a diameter of 1 inch (25 mm) and winds over 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) is expected. This warning is not communicated to Executive Director Hoye or Captain Weaver, who is still anticipating a storm that arrives at 9:15.
At 8:40 pm, Director Hoye dictated the message to the announcer, who sent it to the audience at 8:45. The broadcaster stated that the storm was approaching but the show would continue. He gave instructions on how to flee to nearby buildings if his condition deteriorated, but there was no clue to actually doing the evacuation.
Collapse
Upon hearing the announcement that the event would resume, Captain Weaver confronted Director Hoye and reiterated that the show had to be canceled. Both agreed, and started walking to the stage to make the second announcement. However, at 8:46 am, a gustnado blast hit the stage structure. Just as it hit, the stage collapsed - before they announced the evacuation.
Tammy Vandam, 42; Glenn Goodrich, 49; Alina BigJohny, 23; and Christina Santiago, 29, all died on the scene. Stagehand Nathan Byrd, age 51; Jennifer Haskell, 22; and Meagan Toothman, 24, later died at the hospital for their injuries.
Maps Indiana State Fair stage collapse
Investigation
The Ad State Fair of Indiana Commission hired Thornton Tomasetti engineering firm to lead a technical inquiry into why the stage collapsed. The same company investigated the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and also investigated the collapsed 35W Interstate bridge in Minneapolis.
In addition, safety management companies and public crisis Witt Associates were employed to investigate the State Fair's readiness and response to the incident. James Lee Witt, CEO of the company, is director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the Clinton Administration.
The cause of the collapse
According to a final incident report released by Thornton Tomasetti:
Failure... is due to inadequate capacity of the lateral load-bearing system, which consists of a male line connected to a concrete ballast "Jersey barrier".
The concrete barrier used as an anchor for the male line is not fixed in place; they refuse loading only by friction with the ground and through their own weight - about 4,200 pounds (1,900 kg). Just before the collapse, wind loading caused some obstacles to slide or spin from its original position, allowing the top of the skeletal structure to lean towards the crowd. The next bending force in the supporting column is too large, and the structure collapses because of its own weight. Measurements show that the total weight is 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg).
Some components in the lateral load-bearing system are found to be insufficient:
- Ballast System : Jersey obstacles, as arranged at the time of collapse, can only withstand winds ranging from 25 to 43 miles per hour (40 to 69 km/h), depending on the direction wind; However, the actual wind speed is about 59 mph (95 km/h). The building code requires a structure to withstand 68 mph (109 km/h) wind.
- Guy Line : Even if the ballast is sufficient, the structure will still fail, because the synthetic ratchet wire ropes and the wire rope used as the male line will be loaded beyond their capacity./li>
- Connection structures : Connection of fin plates connecting male lines to the top of the frame structure also has inadequate power and will fail.
Separation and derailment of the tarpaulin roof was found not to be the cause of the collapse, because the collapse of the sequence had already begun before the membrane added additional strength.
Design, construction and inspection
The report also shows a number of procedural factors that contribute to structural problems or prevent them from being discovered:
- The catalog provided by the structural manufacturer, James Thomas Engineering, does not contain enough information to properly design the structure.
- When the same structure was reviewed by an engineer from James Thomas Engineering in 2010, the analysis was inadequate.
- There are no technical reviews about Sugarland's fraud plots before they are attached to the structure.
- The installation of structures deviates from the instructions provided in the analysis by engineers from James Thomas Engineering (in addition to inadequate analysis).
- There are no structural engineering reviews after the establishment of Mid America Sound Corporation.
- The state of Indiana that governs the code ignores the essential requirements for temporary structures such as those collapsing.
- The Indiana State Fair Commission staff does not have proper information or knowledge of the structure to evaluate its use during the exhibition.
Some problems were found with the level of preparedness and actions of officials of Adil and Sugarland representatives on the eve of events that contributed to the number of victims:
- The Indiana State Commission has taken some steps to prepare for the emergency, but the overall state of readiness is not enough for an Indiana State Fair-sized event.
- The Indiana Ad State Fair Commission also does not have an official protocol to suspend, postpone or cancel production. As a result, it is unclear who has the authority to make decisions about the concert.
- Weather forecasts are not communicated correctly.
- However, the response to the incident was successful, with all severely injured patients being transported to the hospital within 80 minutes.
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Legal case
Several lawsuits were filed after the tragedy. In 2014, the largest lawsuit (representing many plaintiffs and several defendants) was settled for $ 50 million in damages. In the above-mentioned lawsuit, the State of Indiana decided to pay $ 11 million, and the other defendants (including Live Nation and Sugarland) settled to pay the balance of $ 50 million ($ 39 million). However, the defendant ESG Security, Inc. (who lost one of their own in the collapse) denied responsibility and was dissatisfied. On September 14, 2015, ESG won a summary appraisal and was dismissed from the case. ESG is the only defendant who was dismissed from the case through a summary appraisal process.
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References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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