Experts commissioned in a $4 billion insurance case involving the World Trade Center have come to conclusions that fundamentally contradict a federal investigation into what caused the twin towers to collapse. The new analysis, according to several experts who have examined the confidential findings, holds that the unusual engineering design of the towers did not contribute to the collapses, and that the damage caused by the planes and the resulting fires made the failures of the buildings inevitable.
The analysis, paid for by Larry A. Silverstein, who held the lease on the trade center, finds that there was no structural flaw or weak link that could have led to the collapse. The earlier inquiry concluded that unconventional lightweight floor supports in the twin towers probably softened and then failed, leading to a progressive collapse of the entire buildings.
