28 COLLAPSE OF TEXAS TOWER NO. 4 
The “flying bridge” or rotating maintenance scaffold suspended 
beneath the tower had been torn loose and had to be repaired before 
divers could ascertain the damage to the underwater foundation. For 
graphic portrayal of damage to the “flying bridge,” a photograph 
showing it against the C leg 1s reproduced. 
Damage to the “Flying Bridge” 
J. Rich Steers, Inc., the original builders under contract with the 
Air Force, completed repair to the “flying bridge” on November 1, 
1960, and subsequent inspections revealed the following damage: 
(a) The above-water X bracing was cracked and fractured in 
its primary and secondary members. 
(6) The upper tier A diagonal was fractured. 
(c) The two diagonals in the second tier of bracing at the 
midpoint of the horizontal at elevation —75 feet had torn loose 
from their attachment and were moving freely. These damages 
were all on the A-B side. 
