Silver Bridge Collapse (Dec 1967).
documentedeventFortean / Mothman / MIB
Eyebar-chain suspension bridge over the Ohio River collapsed 15 Dec 1967, killing 46; NTSB traced it to stress-corrosion cracking of eyebar 330 — later fused into Mothman lore as an omen.
The Point Pleasant ('Silver') Bridge, built 1928, carried US-35 over the Ohio River to Gallipolis, OH. Collapsed at rush hour 15 Dec 1967, 46 dead (2 never found). NTSB's first major highway-accident investigation found a cleavage fracture in the lower limb of eyebar 330 (north Ohio subsidiary chain) from joint stress-corrosion and corrosion-fatigue over the 40-year life; the bridge was within capacity, NOT overloaded. Drove national bridge-inspection reform; replaced by the Silver Memorial Bridge (1969). The Mothman connection is purely retrospective lore.