Webbers Fall collapse findings released

Published: September 02, 2004

The US National Transportation Safety Board has said that the probable cause of the barge collision which toppled an Interstate 40 bridge in Okalahoma in 2002 was the captain's loss of consciousness. This may have been the result of an unforeseeable abnormal heart rhythm. Motorists were unable to to detect the collapsed bridge in time to stop their vehicles, which contributed to the loss of life said the NTSB.

The collapse happened on 26 May 2002 when the towboat Robert Y Love was pushing two empty tank barges northbound on the McClellan-Karr Arkansas River Navigation System, near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. The impact collapsed a 153m section of the bridge. Fourteen people died and five were injured.

Board investigators have recommended the use of a warning system capable of alerting motorists. This might have prevented some of the vehicles from driving off the I-40 bridge thus mitigating the loss of life they said.

The NTSB has also recommended that the US Coast Guard investigates the effectiveness of alert systems on inland towing vessels.

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