Baltimore Bridge Collapse Caused by Single Loose Wire, NTSB Finds
Baltimore, MD – A single faulty wire aboard the cargo ship Dali was the root cause of the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in March 2024, according to a months-long inquiry by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). the incident, which garnered global attention after a livestream captured the bridge’s sudden fall, resulted in the deaths of six highway workers and a prolonged disruption to shipping traffic.
The NTSB’s statement, released Tuesday, detailed how problems with the ship’s wiring led to two blackouts on March 26th, ultimately causing a loss of propulsion and steering control. This loss of control led the 300-meter (984ft) Dali to collide with a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Despite attempts by the crew to regain control and steer the vessel away from the bridge, electrical issues prevented them from doing so, the NTSB reported. The ship’s pilots were credited with promptly alerting authorities to the emergency, allowing the Maryland Transportation Authority to halt traffic flow onto the nearly 4km (2.5-mile) bridge. However, seven workers were already on the bridge at the time of the collapse, and six perished.
“Our investigators routinely accomplish the impossible, and this investigation is no different,” said NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. “The Dali at almost 1,000ft is as long as the Eiffel Tower is high with miles of wiring and thousands of electrical connections.Finding this single wire was like hunting for a loose rivet on the Eiffel tower.”
The investigation concluded that the bridge will not be fully reopened until 2030,with repair costs estimated between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, according to CBS News. The shipping channel fully reopened in June, but the reconstruction of the bridge remains a significant undertaking.
