The severe winter weather that paralyzed the East Coast beginning Feb. 5 took a heavy toll on the Dulles Jet Center (DJC) at Washington Dulles International Airport, with three of four of the DJC hangars – each filled with high-end business jets – crumpling under the weight of nearly two feet of snow. As a result, all three hangars were destroyed, and up to 14 aircraft experienced varying levels of damage. The fourth hangar, which apparently housed four aircraft in the General Dynamics fleet, was damaged slightly, but survived the storm. The aircraft inside the fourth hangar (Hangar D) were not damaged.

The 14 aircraft in Hangars A, B and C were mostly large business jets and included Gulfstreams, Bombardier Globals and Dassault Falcons, among others. DJC executives late last week were assessing the extent of the damage, but some industry experts estimated the cost could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

DJC executives retained KCE Structural Engineers, a Washington, D.C.-based structural design and construction firm, to assist with the deconstruction, site work, design evaluation, and reconstruction of the site.

A wet, heavy snow began to fall by midday Feb. 5, and was accumulating once the sun started to set that evening. Local meteorologists described the snow as a “heart attack” snow because its weight would make shoveling difficult, unlike the dry, powdery snow that had previously fallen in the Washington, D.C. area.

About 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6, the first hangar, Hangar A, collapsed, according to Allyn Kilsheimer, chief executive and founder of KCE. Hangar C followed about three hours later, with Hangar B shortly after that. Hangar D, meanwhile, “twisted and deformed,” but stayed up, Kilsheimer said. About five people were believed to be in the hangars at the time of their collapse, but were able to escape without injury, he noted.

Kilsheimer, who has known and worked with DJC owner Landow & Co. for years, said his firm was called in to shore up and ensure the structural integrity of Hangar D early last week. The other hangars were not salvageable, and Kilsheimer said they looked like “upside down trapezoids” with “wavy walls.” The center of the roof span crushed in about three-quarters of the way down, while the walls were blown out.

He could not speak to the extent of the damage of the aircraft inside, since the hangars had been secured until the site could be “deconstructed.” Kilsheimer was hesitant to provide a firm time line on the work, but indicated that teardown and reconstruction could begin in a matter of weeks. KCE also will conduct a “forensic analysis” to determine why the three-year-old hangars collapsed, while other, older hangars at the airport didn’t.

DJC opened in late 2006 on a 20-acre-site adjacent to the Signature Flight Support fixed-base operation on the east side of Dulles. The four hangars measured 40,000 square feet each, running 165 feet in one direction and 245 in the other. They also were built with a clear-span roof and vertically rising, tilt-up cantilevered hangar doors that were 120 feet long, 30 feet high and weighed 26,000 pounds. The facility, which also includes a 25,000-square-foot office complex, has attracted some top companies and management firms.

The $60 million venture was the first foray into the aviation industry for the top executives of Landow, a Washington, D.C.-area builder of high-rise office buildings and apartments. Nathan Landow and his sons, David and Michael, became involved in the project initially as a means to find a home for their company’s Galaxy/Gulfstream G200 business jet (BA, Dec. 4, 2006/254). Kilsheimer noted that the Landows were devastated by the damage, but that they hoped to rebuild.

By Kerry Lynch (kerry_lynch@aviationweek.com)