Cowboys, Manufacturer Clam Up After Practice Structure Collapses
Following its sudden collapse May 2 of a fabric-covered indoor practice facility, neither the Dallas Cowboys nor the company that designed and supplied the structure are talking about the design or the engineering of the membrane-covered structure. With lawsuits likely to follow an event that resulted in three serious injuries, the National Football League team and Summit Structures are deferring detailed questions until an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation is complete. OSHA routinely takes up to six months to complete accident investigations.
As rookie football players practiced indoors in Irving, Texas, during a swiftly moving thunderstorm, the fabric-clad building began to tremble. Suspended light fixtures began to sway. Within seconds, the entire structure collapsed. Twelve of the 70 people freed from the steel and fabric rubble were taken to the hospital. Three sustained serious injuries.