OSHA Investigates Latest Crane Accident at SpaceX’s Starbase

Federal workplace regulators are investigating a new crane accident at SpaceX’s Starbase complex in South Texas, bringing fresh scrutiny to one of the nation’s fastest-growing aerospace construction and launch sites. SpaceX reported the incident; a worker who was injured in the incident filed a negligence lawsuit against both the company and one of its principal contractors; and OSHA confirmed it is investigating the incident as part of its rapid response process.

OSHA Launches Rapid Response Probe Into Crane Accident

OSHA’s rapid response investigations normally start off with the agency demanding a detailed chronology of events, as well as what immediate steps the employer took to protect workers and any measures planned. If OSHA is not satisfied with the company’s answer, it can move on to an on-site inspection. The agency said it is still waiting for SpaceX to respond in the Starbase case.

This path has increasingly become the norm in fast-moving industry settings where heavy-lift gear is a standard part of the job site.

OSHA’s crane standard, which can be found at 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, calls for thorough planning and training, certified operators and signal persons, as well as exclusion zones—everything that investigators are likely to look over in addition to training records, lift plans, and equipment maintenance logs.

Worker Sues SpaceX and Contractor Over Crane Injury

In a civil suit filed Wednesday by attorneys for Cameron County resident Eduardo Cavazos, the worker says that, while working in an unspecified capacity, he was hit by a 1,200-pound metal support connected to a vertical formwork assembly used to shape poured concrete.

The suit alleges that the support broke away from the building as a crane repositioned formwork, resulting in several orthopedic injuries and multiple hip, knee, and tibia fractures, as well as other harm to his neck, back, shoulders, and legs.

The complaint brings claims against SpaceX and CCC Group—a contractor working on concrete reinforcement at Starbase, who stipulated that all workers remain anonymous in the lawsuit—for allegedly not ensuring proper attachment of the support and for not providing adequate warning or protection to worksites from such hazards. A revised complaint claims the crane operator was working for a separate “manpower” division of CCC Group and had used a cell phone near the time of the lift—an assertion that would violate fundamental safe-lifting practices if proven true. Spokesmen for the companies did not publicly address the claims.

Another Crane Incident at Starbase Under OSHA Review

The probe comes after a separate crane incident at Starbase recorded by independent livestreamers, sparking a separate OSHA investigation. It’s not clear if anyone was injured in that incident. Inevitably, questions are raised about lift planning and supervision, as well as on-site coordination among construction activities in what is a very busy and rapidly constructed on-site locale for heavy move operations.

Safety Record and Reporting Practices at SpaceX Starbase

Starbase’s safety record has attracted scrutiny from labor advocates and regulators. A previous investigation by Reuters uncovered a raft of previously unreported injuries at the South Texas site and a worker death early in construction. Public enforcement records indicate that OSHA had already issued—and later settled, after SpaceX challenged the citation—a $7,000 penalty for a separate reporting lapse at Starbase.

Crane work is among the most dangerous across US worksites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 40–50 worker deaths per year in the United States that are attributed to crane impact and rigging activities. Texas, which has a sizable construction and industrial sector, tends to have more workplace deaths in sheer numbers—further raising expectations when it comes to aggressive accident-prevention efforts involving large-scale projects.

What Investigators Will Scrutinize in Crane Operations

The issue is that OSHA, the federal agency charged with investigating such accidents, would look for building blocks: a lift plan on paper that matches the weight and geometry of what’s being lifted; rigging properly chosen and documented in good condition; an operator qualified to be there, receiving instructions from a signal person also capable of being there; communication without ambiguity; and exclusion zones to keep workers out of harm’s way when something gets hoisted. Investigators will generally look to see if pre-lift briefings were held, whether tag lines and load-stabilization methods were implemented, and similar work-site policies that prevent external distractions during life-and-death operations—such as personal cell phone usage.

With the accusation that a formwork support piece broke away, regulators very well may look into how the formwork system in question was designed and constructed, how connections checked out, and whether there was a change in procedure, equipment, or crew that introduced an unrevealed danger. A deep root-cause and observation analysis often result in corrective measures, including modifying lift plans, retraining crews, working with spotters instead of a single spotter when necessary, stepping up contractor oversight, and implementing stop-work authority with no-retaliation provisions.

Expansion Ramps Up the Stakes at Starbase

SpaceX has continued to build Starbase with new infrastructure, including a proposed $250 million, 700,000-square-foot rocket factory known as Gigabay that the company said could support high-rate production of Starship. This pace and complexity expose risk: more lifts, tighter schedules, and greater contractor mobilization all mean that the burden of tight safety management systems holds across every shift and subcontractor level.

The conclusion of OSHA’s rapid response review—and whether such a determination moves to a site inspection—will suggest how regulators are assessing the soundness of SpaceX’s controls over crane work. For now, the big questions are common ones in heavy construction: Was the lift well planned and communicated? Were the right people and equipment there for it? And was anyone on that crew empowered—or emboldened—to stop a lift when something ceased to look right?