Didn’t I just read that they had decided to drop their suit against the passengers?
There are better means of revenge than lawsuits.
I thought this info may help everyone to get their heads around the kind of design values that are used in steel construction.
The steel members were more than likely to have been grade 36 steel. That means, it can hold 36 kips (36 thousand lbs per square inch) before it shears. It may even be grade 50 steel (50 kips) but due to the age it is unlikely. A single normal 3/4” Dia. heavy hex bolt will hold 9.3 kips (9 thousand lbs per square inch) in single shear. And most bridges have scores of bolts per connection. I don’t know if bolts or rivets were used however. Also every misc. steel member would also be 36ksi. Again this is not to say it wasn’t a structural failure, just want to give you some numbers.