Sugarland concert stage collapse.

[mammynun]

Safety for the persons at the event, to me(this is my personal opinion) seemed 2nd in priority on the part of the fair and concert officials. They should of played it safe and evac'd, the people out in the open especially. I know its easy to sit here and arm chair quarter back this, but at the first sign of a storm, especially having been informed of a Severe Storm warning, I would of without any doubt, ordered the Evac.

To a certain extent, you're probably right... "The show must go on" is truly a mindset in the industry. From the comfort and safety of my armchair, I'll disagree that the fans needed to be ordered to evac; they are free to do that at any time. An evac order probably would have helped the crew/employees as walking off the job is frowned upon... which makes me wonder where the steward for Local 30 was at... I haven't sorted this all the way through yet in my own mind, but outdoor gigs are significantly more dangerous than indoor gigs 99.9% of the time. Weather, terrain, improperly grounded gen-set's all conspire against you. Everything is more difficult when you have less control of the variables.

 

[dukeboy_318]

To a certain extent, you're probably right... "The show must go on" is truly a mindset in the industry. From the comfort and safety of my armchair, I'll disagree that the fans needed to be ordered to evac; they are free to do that at any time. An evac order probably would have helped the crew/employees as walking off the job is frowned upon... which makes me wonder where the steward for Local 30 was at... I haven't sorted this all the way through yet in my own mind, but outdoor gigs are significantly more dangerous than indoor gigs 99.9% of the time. Weather, terrain, improperly grounded gen-set's all conspire against you. Everything is more difficult when you have less control of the variables.

Very true. However, I've also seen first hand how large crowds can react when it appears to them that they are being told its not going to be that bad and that the show would go on as planned. Some people used their own judgement and left the area. I can see how others could think that it was safe to stay based on the officials comments. To me, playing it safe is always a win/win

 

[Hotdoger]

I work in the "entertainment biz," and know the crew that assembled that rig (Mid America Sound Mid-AmericaSound) and have more than likely worked on that exact stage. The guys at Mid America are pros, and they are safety oriented. The design of their stages are "industry standard" and considered state of the art. But nothing is perfect, and mother nature can destroy anything given 1/2 a chance. Does the top act like a big sail? Yes, it does. But artists will not perform w/o a top. The lights and sound (looked like a V-DOSC rig) do make it top heavy, but I can't fathom that the investigation will find that Mid America exceeded ANY load ratings; and the ratings are typically 25% of the true failure point. I expect we'll see Kerry on the news, and I'm sure that he's heartbroken over this.
I'm an audio and video guy, so I don't pretend to know all there is to know about rigging. But I do know Mid America, and I would work under their top(s) without hesitation. My guess is that the one that fell is the first one listed here: Roof & Staging | Mid-AmericaSound
I'm really worried about the spot ops... typically there is a manned spotlight suspended in each corner of the top; I hope they had enough time to climb down.

Looks to me like the wind from the side caused great pressure on the netting with the result being it pushed the whole structure sideways.

 

[cowgirl.sdm]

I know over the next few days the people in charge of all these decisions will be trying to figure out better ways to handle situations like this. They also will be upset with themselves for making choices that ended in such a tradic way. The other thing is that they will have to deal with the families that are upset and looking for answers to why their love ones were hurt or injured. Let's not forget, through this whole situation, that we are all human and make mistakes. We react in the best way we see fit at the time and hind sight is always 20/20. Let's remember all the people involved in this situation in prayer. This includes, of course the injured and loved ones of the deceased, but also all of those who were in on the decision making. They all are going to have a hard next few day, and weeks ahead.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Very sad that hatches were not battened down.

 

[Westside]

You guys are correct the stage is a Thomas super truss. I didn't work at the state fair this year but have in past years. Mid America's work is top notch and I can't believe any of this is do to a lack of quality work on their part. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that these systems are designed to be pulled down on by gravity so when they are lifted up they don't work very well. This systems are very heavy and use gravity to their advantage but when you get extremely high winds like last night you get the "perfect storm" no pun intended, to bring the rig down. And you can see that the weight of the arrays, speakers, brought the rig forward and the wind brought it to the right from the audience's prospective. SO, that the rig did not "collapse" straight down but rather fell over on its side.

Ok rant over.

Prayers for the injured and their families, and condolences to the dead and their families.

 

[JetGirl]

My daughter sent me this from one of her friends:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkdwrmzYXg[/ame]

 

[mammynun]

You guys are correct the stage is a Thomas super truss. I didn't work at the state fair this year but have in past years. Mid America's work is top notch and I can't believe any of this is do to a lack of quality work on their part. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that these systems are designed to be pulled down on by gravity so when they are lifted up they don't work very well. This systems are very heavy and use gravity to their advantage but when you get extremely high winds like last night you get the "perfect storm" no pun intended, to bring the rig down. And you can see that the weight of the arrays, speakers, brought the rig forward and the wind brought it to the right from the audience's prospective. SO, that the rig did not "collapse" straight down but rather fell over on its side.

Ok rant over.

Prayers for the injured and their families, and condolences to the dead and their families.

All true.
Additionally, CM motors (which are used to raise the top) travel at 16'/minute. If they had 11 minutes from warning to failure and, assuming it was MAS's large rig set up at its 60' max height, they only had a little less than 7 and a half minutes to disseminate the info and make the decision to drop the top before they would have had to start bringing the motors in. In a festival/concert situation that's a practical impossibility.

 

[Westside]

My daughter sent me this from one of her friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkdwrmzYXg

The tarp looks like it failed as designed but not being there and only able to analyze from beyond my arm chair. My guess is that the staging added to the surface area that helped bring it down.

 

[Plinkuh]

My daughter sent me this from one of her friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkdwrmzYXg

This is the video they've been showing continuously on the news.

Such a tragedy, 5 people die when trying to have a good time. Prayers sent to all involved, and their families.

PRESS CONFERENCE with the Mayor and other officials on all news channels at the moment. Mitch Daniels actually got a little choked up, much emotion. It sounds like IOSHA will have a hay day with the stage crew.

 

[Westside]

All true.
Additionally, CM motors (which are used to raise the top) travel at 16'/minute. If they had 11 minutes from warning to failure and, assuming it was MAS's large rig set up at its 60' max height, they only had a little less than 7 and a half minutes to disseminate the info and make the decision to drop the top before they would have had to start bringing the motors in. In a festival/concert situation that's a practical impossibility.

I agree with you BUT, the staging for the concert appears to make that impossible with those large video screens that were hung vertical. I don't think 7 minutes would have been enough. with the stage design I am guessing they would of needed an hour to get the stage all the way down and secured.

 

[JetGirl]

This is the video they've been showing continuously on the news.

Sorry, didn't know. TV hasn't been used for anything here but DVDs in years.

 

[Plinkuh]

Sorry, didn't know. TV hasn't been used for anything here but DVDs in years.

No apology needed. Just thought you'd like to know that you're daughters friend's video has been put to good use. My TV only has bunny ears

 

[JetGirl]

No apology needed. Just thought you'd like to know that you're daughters friend's video has been put to good use. My TV only has bunny ears

I don't know who filmed it...I only know it came via that source. She had friends that were in Indy for the fair, but I don't know if it was for that concert or not. All I know is she turned down going this weekend and spending overnight to go Sunday...and that we're all glad she did that.

 

[mike4sigs]

read this earlier in the morning(didnt reread the whole thread) so sorry if it is a double tap but MSN hompage is now reporting five dead!
Families are in our thoughts!

 

[Plinkuh]

All I know is she turned down going this weekend and spending overnight to go Sunday...and that we're all glad she did that.

 

[cowgirl.sdm]

read this earlier in the morning(didnt reread the whole thread) so sorry if it is a double tap but MSN hompage is now reporting five dead!
Families are in our thoughts!

Yeah 4 died on sceane and 1 died over night. My heart is heavy for these injured and families of the loss. I didn't sleep well all night.

 

[stephen87]

Wow. Thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the deceased and to the injured and their families. Hopefully this never happens again. I will say from the videos I've seen, there were numerous people with good intentions at that concert. One video was the aftermath and there were at least 60 people holding the trusses up while others were trying to get to the people underneath. It truly breaks my heart to see this happen. Not to be selfish, but I hope every one of you guys and your loved ones are safe.

 

[ReSSurrected]

Just read the names of the deceased. 99% sure one of them is a co worker.

 

[85t5mcss]

Just read the names of the deceased. 99% sure one of them is a co worker.

Sorry to hear, makes it that much more difficult to deal with. All the best.