Family sues SpaceX over Starbase worker killed when an unsecured 7,770-pound beam tipped

The I-beam his harness was clipped to, 58 feet long and 7,770 pounds, was never fastened down, the suit says, because the floor concrete was too poor to hold the bolts, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Bautista worked for Delta Fabrication & Machine Inc. of Daingerfield, Texas, a SpaceX contractor on the Gigabay. The crew was swapping out beams, and the one that fell was new and not yet installed.

According to the complaint, Delta workers who could not tighten the bolts near the end of a shift tied the beam to an anchored one with come-alongs, the hand-ratcheted cable winches. A SpaceX official later told Delta to redo that temporary rigging and add a beam strap. Bautista, working from a scissor lift, was on the crew sent to make the change. The family alleges one come-along was loosened, the second failed and the beam went over and pulled him to the floor. The suit also claims SpaceX set the method for securing the beam and that a SpaceX employee directed the work.

Those are allegations in a civil complaint. SpaceX has not commented on the death, the newspaper said. In the sheriff's report, Delta's senior superintendent said he had told the foreman to have a crew adjust and secure the beam and did not know why Bautista tied off to it. The foreman told investigators Bautista may have believed it was secure because anchor bolts were already in.

OSHA is investigating, with findings expected in November. No worker had been reported killed on the job at Starbase before, and across SpaceX it was the second such death. Since 2021, OSHA has opened at least 16 investigations at SpaceX sites and issued 17 violations, with eight of each involving Starbase, according to the Express-News.