Investigators Think They've Solved the Mystery of the Baltimore Bridge Crash
www.scientificamerican.com

... A tiny, misplaced label on the ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in 2024 may have caused the catastrophic crash that killed six people, U.S. officials revealed on Tuesday. ...

Investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have reported that a small label wrapped around a critical wire that was plugged into one of the many terminal boxes on the cargo ship had, over the course of years, caused the wire to come loose, tripping a breaker and causing the initial power outage on the ship.

"This tragedy should have never occurred," said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, said at a board meeting on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

The report also found that the Dali's crew had responded appropriately to the emergency. Because of the ship's size and uncontrollable drifting, however, the crew's actions to try to prevent the crash were ultimately futile. ...

Officials increase estimated cost, push back timeline of Key Bridge rebuild
www.wbaltv.com

... Officials updated the cost estimate for the Key Bridge rebuild and pushed the estimated timeline back on Monday. ...

In a news release, the Maryland Transportation Authority said the cost will likely be anywhere from $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion. The change marks a stark contrast after the Associated Press reported in May 2024 that the initial cost was estimated to be between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion. ...