Bechtel Reveals Cause of Port Arthur LNG Tragedy

Bechtel has revealed seven causes of a deadly accident at the $14 billion Port Arthur LNG terminal project in Texas and outlined new safety measures to prevent future incidents.

On 29 April 2025, three workers—Reginald Magee, Felipe Mendez, and Felix Lopez Sr—lost their lives during a night-shift on the facility’s towering concrete tanks.

Two others were injured. 

The incident occurred when the climbing formwork system the crew was using “gave way,” sending the men plummeting from height.

Formwork jumping, a process where platforms are lifted and repositioned to allow successive pours of concrete, is a routine but inherently dangerous task.

That night, the five-person crew had already completed eight sections. 

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But as they set the final section, a bracket on the platform “had come to rest on top of the integrated washer…rather than in its proper place on the shaft,” making the platform unstable. 

When the crew signalled the crane, the left side of the platform collapsed.

Bechtel initiated an internal investigation, working closely with OSHA, to understand what happened. They found seven main factors that caused the accident:

1. Improperly secured bracket connection: One bracket on the formwork platform was not properly seated on the bolt, making the system unstable.

2. Unanchored fall-arrest equipment: Three workers hadn’t attached their fall-arrest lanyards to approved anchor points.

3. Inadequate training: The crew was inexperienced with the formwork system and hadn’t had proper training.

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4. Absence of experienced crew members: The foreman and leading hand were not present at the critical moment.

5. Noncompliance with Bechtel’s mentoring process: Newly hired workers had not been paired with veteran colleagues for the full mentoring period.

6. Night working: Reduced visibility, fatigue and diminished supervision during the night shift increased risk.

7. Safety culture not consistently applied: Life-critical safety rules were not enforced across all crews.

Bechtel has since implemented a series of corrective measures. 

Night-time formwork jumping was suspended, fall protection training was expanded and audited by third-party experts, and a triple-verification process for securing formwork was introduced. 

Supervisors are now mandated to oversee all high-risk tasks, mentoring programs have been reinforced, and STARRT/FLHA safety cards have been updated to ensure crew-level discussions address life-critical measures at the start of every shift.

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