Willow Island disaster

Historical eventApril 271978

Willow Island disaster

Willow Island disaster: In the deadliest construction accident in United States history, 51 construction workers are killed when a cooling tower under construction collapses at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia.

Everything on April 27Original source
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain

In context

When
Thursday, April 27 197848 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1970s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1978-04-27.

Place: Willow Island, United States.

Type: occurrence.

What came before

Background Pleasants Power Plant with its two cooling towers shown here in 2015. During the 1970s, many coal-powered power plants were being built in the valley along the Ohio River . The Allegheny Power System was building another, larger plant at Willow Island, which would have two electric generators with a total capacity of 1,300 megawatts . This was in addition to the two smaller units that were already installed there. [ 1 ] By April 1978, one natural draft cooling tower had been built,

What happened

Investigation The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) investigation team arrived at the site the day of the accident. A team from the National Bureau of Standards (now called the National Institute of Standards and Technology ) arrived two days later. [ 1 ] A number of safety lapses caused the collapse: Scaffolding was attached to concrete that had not been given time to sufficiently cure. Bolts were missing, and the existing bolts were of insufficient grade.

The Willow Island disaster was the collapse of a cooling tower under construction at the Pleasants Power Station at Willow Island, West Virginia, on April 27, 1978. Fifty-one construction workers were killed. It is thought to be the deadliest construction accident in U.S. history.

April 27 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1978Willow Island disaster
  2. 19941994 South African general election
  3. 1997Andrew Cunanan
  4. 2005Airbus A380
  5. 2006One World Trade Center
  6. 2007Estonia
  7. 2007Israel
  8. 20112011 Super Outbreak
  9. 20122012 Dnipropetrovsk explosions
  10. 2018Panmunjom Declaration
  11. 20262026 Bekasi train collision

Also in 1978

  • September 111978 smallpox outbreak in the United KingdomBritish medical photographer Janet Parker became the last recorded person to die from smallpox, leading to a debate on whether the virus…
  • March 14Israel Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces launch Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon.
  • September 15Caesars SuperdomeAt the Superdome in New Orleans, Muhammad Ali outpoints Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight t…
  • September 17Camp David AccordsThe Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.
  • September 5Camp David AccordsCamp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace discussions at Camp David, Maryland.
  • May 25Ted KaczynskiThe first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.
  • November 27San FranciscoIn San Francisco, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
  • November 27Kurdistan Workers' PartyThe Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is founded in the Turkish village of Fis.

Everything we record for 1978 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Willow Island disaster”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/willow-island-disaster-1978-april-27, accessed October 25, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Willow Island disaster happen?

April 27 1978 — 48 years ago, on a Thursday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.