NTSB: Oversight could have prevented Miami bridge collapse
MIAMI (AP) - Federal transportation officials have concluded that design flaws and a lack of oversight led to the collapse of a Miami university bridge that killed six people last year.
The National Transportation Safety Board's final report blames design firm FIGG Bridge Engineers Inc. and the company hired to conduct an independent review for not identifying that the load on a key section of the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University was underestimated.
The board's vice chairman Bruce Landsberg said the checks and balances required by the Florida Department of Transportation "were completely lacking." Landsberg said the state agency was "sloppy" for not verifying the qualifications of the peer review firm Louis Berger, which failed to catch the design problems.