The hall where the roof collapse occurred was one of the main waiting areas at the airport. The building had been constructed during the tenure of Abolhassan Ebtehaj, a prominent figure in Persian civil engineering who had been the CEO of several major state-owned companies, including the Iranian National Oil Company. Ebtehaj was known for his ambitious modernization projects, but his legacy became tarnished in the years following the Mehrabad Airport incident due to several allegations of mismanagement and negligence, particularly in relation to the collapse.
The Collapse: Causes and Immediate Aftermath
The collapse of the roof occurred during a period of heavy snowfall, which placed an extraordinary load on the building’s roof. The structural integrity of the hall had already been compromised due to ongoing construction work, which included the temporary removal of one of the supporting columns. This decision, made by the contractors or engineers overseeing the renovations, was a critical mistake. The supporting column had been an essential part of the hall’s structural design, and its removal left the roof vulnerable to external stresses such as the weight of the snow that was falling heavily that day.
