Презентация

Engineering Disasters of All Time

Engineering disasters that teach how a small mistake can lead to catastrophic events

The field of engineering has contributed immensely towards changing the face of the earth. The innovations and inventions made by man in this area in the last few decades have been nothing short of incredible.

However, there have been some unforgettable engineering disasters as well. These disasters have been a result of design failure, under or overestimations, insufficient knowledge and much more.

Nevertheless, these disasters have been a subject of study and research for the new age engineers, so that they can learn from the mistakes and improve the engineering of the future.

Let’s check out these disasters in detail!

1.   The Hindenburg Disaster – A Catastrophe That Puts A Halt on Passenger Airships Altogether

Hindenburg was an airship made in Germany and led to a big disaster that killed 36 passengers including crew members. The incident was caught on a video as well.

The airship caught fire and also crashed while trying to dock itself in New Jersey. The reason, according to American and German investigators who worked on the original study, stated that the fire on the airship broke out because of electrostatic discharge which led to the ignition of the leaking hydrogen gas.

After the Hindenburg disaster, the commercial use of passenger airships also ended.

2.   The Collapse of The Quebec Bridge – A Mistake Made Twice

The Quebec Bridge collapsed twice in Canada. The first time, it was in 1907, and the second time, it happened in 1916. This disaster is known to have killed as many as 88-89 workers.

It was the largest Cantilever bridge in Canada and around the world. When the bridge collapsed in 1907, there were workers who were working on the Cantilever arm, and almost 55 people were reported dead, either because of the falling debris or due to drowning.

It was a big disaster for them, and they thought they had learned their lesson. So, they decided to build the bridge again. The second time, they used lower chords for the Cantilevers, and they were much stronger than before.

Yet again, disaster struck in 1916 and the central span of the bridge crumbled down. This time, it killed 13 workers.

3.   Titanic – The Fall of The Mighty Ship

 Titanic is one of the most well-known engineering disasters in the world that claimed the lives of more than 1500 people onboard. Titanic was a passenger ship that took its first journey from Southampton and was supposed to go to New York in April of 1912.

This British ship is known to have sunk after its collision with an iceberg. It is also considered an engineering failure because according to the tests on the several rivets, they were made up of very low-quality iron.

Therefore, after a huge impact of the iceberg, it fell apart. It might be one of the biggest reasons that led to the sinking of the Titanic.

Another fault that was discovered later was that the sixteen compartments that were watertight were connected near the ceiling and were not individually sealed. 

4.   The Nuclear Plant Explosion in Chernobyl – The Explosion That Affected Generations

In 1986, nuclear reactors failed and led to a series of explosions and radioactive fallout. As many as 64 people died on the spot as a result of this engineering disaster.

However, almost 30,000 people suffered from premature deaths due to cancer. This disaster occurred because of a flawed design of the reactor and the people operating it were not trained properly.

In 2011, this site was declared as a tourist attraction.

5.   The Collapse of The Charles De Gaulle Airport – An Engineering Failure Personified

The Charles de Gaulle airport disaster reflects one of the biggest engineering failures. The airport was inaugurated in May 2004, and soon after, a huge portion of the roof of Terminal 2E collapsed.

Due to the collapse, 4 people died immediately and 3 people incurred heavy injuries. Later, when the place was examined, experts did not find any fault.

However, when the inquiry team did a thorough check, they found that the roof was not strong enough to hold heavy metal pillars. After this disaster, they reconstructed the terminal which cost them as much as $120 million.

The airport was reopened in 2008.

6.   The Disaster of The Space Shuttle Challenger – When Structural Failure Leads to Big Losses

The NASA Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on January 28, 1986, when the shuttle broke apart precisely 73 seconds into flight. The disaster killed 7 astronauts who were on board.

The entire event was shown live on the television.

After the investigation, it was found that the space shuttle’s external fuel had collapsed, which released all the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. The mixing of these chemicals led to ignition and broke off the tank.

The shuttle orbiter thus couldn’t tolerate the aerodynamic forces without the tank and the boosters, resulting in breaking off of other components and ultimately death of all the onboard astronauts.

7.   The Air France Concorde Flight Crash – The Crashing of a Mighty Airliner

The Concorde flight of Air France on 25th July 2000 crashed soon after its take-off from the Charles De Gaulle International Airport. It killed 113 people in total.

The disaster happened because of one of its tires that were cut during take-off by a metal strip debris that was lying on the runway. It ruptured the tire that was struck under the wing and led to a chained reaction which ended in a crash.

After an investigation, it was found that Concorde was more prone to such disasters resulting from the explosion of tires as compared to other types of aircraft. After the accident, many modifications were made to the original design of airplanes.

This accident also led to the end of the Supersonic Airliner, and three years later, Concorde also stopped running.

8.   The Disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia – Consequences of Neglecting the Challenges

The Space Shuttle Columbia killed a crew of 7 astronauts on 1st February 2003. It disintegrated when reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. On further investigation, it was deduced that during the launch of the space shuttle, a small piece of foam insulation had broken from the shuttle.

It had hit the left wing of the space shuttle and damaged the protective tiles that are responsible for protecting the shuttle during its reentry into the earth’s atmosphere from the massive onslaught of heat. Due to the damage, when the space shuttle re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, the tiles failed and caused a rapid chain of events that finally disintegrated the shuttle.

9.   The Vasa Disaster – Overconfidence Kills

The Vasa was Sweden’s move to impress the world with its new ship in 1626. It boasted of 64 canons that could fire at least 650 pounds of ammunition just from one side, and the ship was 226 feet in length.

However, despite the bold statements and the bated breaths, Vasa did not even manage to escape from the Stockholm harbor the moment it sailed in 1628. It was awkward and top-heavy after encountering wind that was only a nautical mile from the port, it sank.

10.                     The Apollo 13 Disaster – Prepare for The Worst

The Apollo 13 disaster is quite popular as it resulted in two iconic Hollywood films. This crippled flight to the moon took place in 1970. An oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded merely two days after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 11th April 1970.

This explosion caused massive hardship to the crew members as they suffered from limited power, lack of potable water, loss of cabin heat and much more. However, they managed to return to earth on 17th April safely.