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By Rebecca Boone

The Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho 鈥� The families of two construction workers killed when an聽unfinished airport hangar collapsed聽are suing several companies that were involved in the building process, alleging the businesses recklessly cut corners and used unsuitable materials.

The private hangar at the Boise airport was under construction when it聽collapsed under high winds聽on Jan. 31, killing three people and injuring nine others. The families of Mario Sontay and Mariano Coc filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Big D Builders, Steel Building Systems, Inland Crane and Speck Steel in federal court earlier this week, asking for unspecified monetary damages.

Sontay, 32, and Coc, 24, had been working on the site for only six days when the massive metal structure collapsed. They鈥檇 been sent to the hangar from another construction site by Big D Builders because the building鈥檚 shell was supposed to be completed by the end of January, according to the lawsuit, and that contract deadline was looming.

Construction problems may have been evident in the days before the collapse, with some subcontractors on the site reporting that the metal beams that made up the skeleton of the building looked like they were twisting or weren鈥檛 properly braced.

鈥淢any subcontractors were critical of the rushed schedule,鈥� Enrique Serna and Jane Gordon, the attorneys representing the families, wrote in the lawsuit. 鈥淭hey cited 鈥榗utting of corners,鈥� reported 鈥榖owing of beams,鈥� snapping cables, a lack of key cross bracing, flange bracing and cable bracing.鈥�

Big D Builders, based in Meridian, Idaho, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Both Inland Crane, based in Boise, and Steel Building Systems, based in Emmett, Idaho, expressed condolences to the victims鈥� families in written statements.

鈥淲hile we mourn the loss of our partners, friends, and colleagues, all evidence demonstrates that Inland Crane and our employees are not at fault for this tragedy,鈥� Inland Crane wrote.

鈥淔amily is the core of who we are at Steel Building Systems,鈥� Andy Speck, the co-owner of SBS and Speck Steel, wrote in an email. 鈥淥ur heartfelt condolences go out to the victims and their families. We cannot speak to a majority of the complaints filed as SBS was not the installer of the metal building, nor did we possess or demonstrate any authority over job site operations.鈥�

On the day of the collapse, Sontay and Coc were installing bolts to secure the building鈥檚 rafters, standing on a man lift that hoisted them 40 feet above the ground. Stiff winds were blowing at the airport, reaching between 25 and 35 miles per hour.

Around 5 p.m., witnesses began hearing popping noises and a loud roaring sound. Some of the workers inside the building were able to run to safety, but others were trapped.

The lift that was holding Coc and Sontay was struck by a falling rafter and slammed into the ground. Coc, who had moved to the United States from Guatemala in 2020, died instantly. Sontay, also a Guatemala citizen who came to the U.S. in 2021, succumbed to his injuries about five minutes later. Both men were supporting families in their home country, according to the lawsuit.

Big D Builders co-owner Craig Durrant, 59, was also in the building when it fell, and was decapitated.

Serna, the attorney for the Coc and Sontay families, alleged in a press conference Wednesday that Big D Builders and the other companies acted negligently with disregard for the workers鈥� safety. Big D Builders had a set of construction plans that had already been approved by the city of Boise, but instead decided to use a second set of plans designed by Steel Building Systems that called for roughly 30 percent less bracing, according to the lawsuit.

Also, the building was constructed using manufactured bracing items and structural supports that weren鈥檛 properly designed to fit prefabricated materials, according to the lawsuit. 鈥淪erious design and engineering defects鈥� resulted, and the problem was exacerbated by the strong winds, the workers鈥� families contend.

On that day, Inland Crane had removed three of the four cranes that were at the construction site, according to the lawsuit, but left an older model that was serving as support for erection. It wasn鈥檛 rated for high wind speeds and was improperly tied to the structure, according to the lawsuit.

鈥淭hey know better!鈥� Serna said. 鈥淭hey know better, not to act like this. But a lot of the time they think it鈥檚 going to be OK. I hope these practices are not carried on because practices like this kill people. It clearly killed my clients.鈥�

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is still investigating the collapse, and a report on the findings is expected to be released within the next several weeks.