10 Most Famous Engineering Disasters

It's time for the less-pleasant list of engineering disasters after the 10 most amazing engineering achievements. Engineers are no exception to the rule when it comes to making mistakes. However, engineering blunders can result in ephemeral catastrophes that will forever reverberate in the minds of those who witnessed them and will be investigated by subsequent generations of engineers. Some will argue that trial and error improves our capabilities, but the cost can be prohibitive at times. When an engineering flaw is to blame for a disaster, it is referred to as an engineering disaster: flaws in the design or failures in the materials, which are frequently brought on by a lack of knowledge, various underestimations, or even carelessness or negligence. We compiled a list of ten well-known engineering catastrophes, or catastrophes in which at least one engineering factor contributed to the outcomes. Sorted by the event's date:

10 Most Famous Engineering Disasters

• Titanic (1912)
• St. Francis Dam flooding (1928)
• Hindenburg disaster (1937)
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse (1940)
• Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion (1944)
• Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway Collapse (1981)
• Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (1986)
• Chernobyl disaster (1986)
• Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crash (2000)
• Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (2003)
   

1. Titanic (1912)

The British passenger ship RMS Titanic capsized in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton (UK) to New York City. The Titanic was regarded as unsinkable at the time because it was the largest ship ever constructed. Over 1,500 people lost their lives in the tragedy.
But was the Titanic's demise an accident of engineering? The disaster was brought about by a number of factors: removing half of the ship's planned lifeboats and cruising at high speed through an iceberg-prone environment. Concerning the engineering perspective: Recently, some of the 3 million rivets that held the Titanic together were found to be made of low-quality iron, causing them to break when struck by an object. This might have played a role in what happened. Another designing shortcoming was that the 16 watertight compartments that kept the boat above water, were not independently fixed, but instead associated close to the roof. The boat went down as a result of the water spilling from one compartment to another because of this.

2. St. Francis Dam flooding (1928)

St. Francis Dam in 1927. The flooding of the dam is one of the most famous engineering disasters

St. Francis Dam in 1927. The flooding of the dam is one of the most famous engineering disasters

3. Hindenburg disaster (1937)

The German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while trying to dock in New Jersey. The disaster, which was captured on camera, resulted in the deaths of 36 individuals. The original German and American researchers arrived at the same conclusion after decades of study and testing: Electrostatic discharges ignited the leaking hydrogen from the airship's 200 million liters (7 million cubic feet) of hydrogen gas, which caused the fire. Commercial passenger airships came to an end after the Hindenburg disaster.

4. Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse (1940)

READ ALSO » Top 10 Most Difficult Engineering Courses In The World

In the state of Washington, the initial Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a suspension bridge that opened in 1940 and collapsed in the same year. By main span length, the bridge was the third longest suspension bridge in the world when it was built. In windy conditions, the bridge was known to move vertically, and on November 7, 1940, it collapsed under winds of 40 mph (64 km/h). The collapse, which was captured on camera, influenced science and engineering, particularly bridge design, up until the present day. Aeroelastic flutter, a dynamic instability of an elastic structure, was the reason for the failure.
 

5. Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion (1944)

A liquefied natural gas storage tank that was kept above ground as was typical at the time began to leak on October 20, 1944. After mixing with air and sewer gas, the liquefied gas fell into the sewer lines and ignited. 130 people were killed in a series of fires and explosions in Cleveland, Ohio. The catastrophe had a significant impact on the natural gas industry, which began storing gas in underground tanks.

6. Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway Collapse (1981)

At the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, on July 17, 1981, two vertical walkways gave way and fell into the lobby. At the time, the collapse of a building was the deadliest in American history, claiming the lives of 114 people. The walkways' design was found to have serious flaws. The engineers who had approved the walkways' final drawings were found guilty of gross negligence and misconduct, and they lost their engineering licenses.

7. Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (1986)

The NASA Space Shuttle Challenger fell apart 73 seconds into its flight on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board. The investigation revealed that the shuttle was disassembled by aerodynamic forces as a result of a structural failure that began with a particular gasket failing during liftoff. The entire event was shown live on television.

8. Chernobyl disaster 

A nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl power plant, resulting in the Chernobyl disaster. An unanticipated power surge occurred on April 26, 1986, during a systems test. This set off a chain of events that resulted in explosions and fire, which released radioactive particles into the atmosphere. In Europe, the hazardous particles spread to a large area. Large areas were evacuated, and Pripyat, a nearby city, is still a ghost town today.
 

9. Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crash (2000)

113 people were killed when an Air France Concorde flight crashed on July 25, 2000, shortly after taking off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris. One of the tires was cut during takeoff by metal strip debris on the runway. A large portion of the ruptured tire hit the underside of the wing, triggering a series of events that culminated in the crash.

The investigation revealed that tire explosions were more likely to cause catastrophic accidents on the Concorde than on other aircraft. The Concorde's design necessitated a much higher air and tire speed during the takeoff roll, which increased the likelihood of a tire explosion and the severity of the damage it could cause. The airplane's design, which was once regarded as one of the safest in the world, was altered following the accident. The Concorde finally retired three years after the accident, marking the end of the supersonic airliner.

10. Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (2003)

READ ALSO » JAMB Cut Off Mark For Industrial Engineering In Nigeria 2023 (All Universities)

The Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on February 1, 2003, during its reentry into the atmosphere of the Earth, killing all seven astronauts on board. According to the investigation, during the launch, a piece of the shuttle's foam insulation fell off and struck the left wing, causing damage to the tiles that shield the shuttle from the extreme heat generated during reentry. These tiles failed upon reentry, triggering the rapid sequence of events that led to the shuttle's demise.