The following essay discusses some of the worst disasters caused by human error in calculation and communication, resulting in significant losses and loss of lives.
The collapse of the Quebec Bridge in Canada occurred twice, in 1907 and 1916. The bridge collapsed for the first time on August 29, 1907. At the time of the collapse, workers were working on the cantilever arms. The engineering board felt they had learned from their mistakes and decided to rebuild the bridge with stronger tie bars for the cantilever arms several times stronger than before. Once again, on September 11, 1916, the center span of the bridge collapsed, killing 13 workers. The total losses from both disasters were estimated to reach USD 22 million. This incident demonstrates to humanity the adverse effects of technical failures and inadequate supervision.
The LZ-129 Hindenburg of Germany was the largest commercial airship ever built. It was three times the size of a Boeing 747 and capable of reaching a top speed of 84 mph. At the time, it was the most technologically advanced aircraft. The disaster occurred on May 6, 1937. The Hindenburg carried 97 passengers when it exploded in the skies over New Jersey with billowing smoke. The cause of the accident was a leak of hydrogen gas from the fuel cells mixing with oxygen to form a highly flammable mixture. This mixture ignited and caused a large fire. This was the first recorded technical accident captured on film, and it destroyed public confidence in airships.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was an iconic bridge with a long span built in the state of Washington in the United States in the 1930s. Leon Moisseiff planned a design that was far more flexible than the standard acceptable ratio. On November 7, 1940, strong winds at 40 mph hit the area, causing the bridge to significantly sway. The bridge towers were made of strong structural carbon steel but proved unable to withstand the violent movement, ultimately leading to the bridge's collapse.
NASA launched the Skylab space station in 1973. It was the first successful space station in the world. Skylab collected a large amount of data, including 175,000 images of the sun. This research also gathered useful information about the biological effects of long-duration space stays. On June 11, 1979, the empty Skylab broke up in the atmosphere and rained fiery debris over Australia and the Indian Ocean. Skylab was reportedly designed to be boosted but failed to land back on Earth. Orbital decay occurred much earlier than NASA's estimates, and they were unable to control it.
The disaster occurred at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. On July 17, 1981, two nearby walkways collapsed directly into the hotel lobby. At the time, the hotel was hosting a tea dance party, and over 1,600 people were gathered in the lobby. It was reported that 114 people died and over 216 were injured. Additionally, the property damage caused ranged in the millions of dollars. Apparently, the constructors found a design flaw during the hotel's construction. They decided to fix it in such a way that two walkways on the second and fourth floors were adjacent, causing double loading on the atrium roof.
The Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 in Madhya Pradesh, India, was the worst industrial disaster in history. The official death toll was 3,787. However, it was the long-term impact that was most devastating, causing injuries, disabilities, and illnesses to over 5 million people. The accident occurred at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Post-midnight on December 3, 1984, a leak of methyl isocyanate gas (highly toxic) occurred from the factory while the country was asleep. The gas leak killed thousands of people within hours of the incident. It was reported that around 558,000 people were injured, with 3,900 of them suffering permanent disabilities.
NASA's space shuttle Challenger exploded on its tenth flight just 73 seconds after liftoff. The disaster occurred on January 28, 1986. Its crew consisted of five astronauts and several payload specialists. None survived the disaster. Several investigations were conducted after the disaster. They revealed that two O-ring seals designed to separate the rocket booster segments failed due to cold temperatures during launch. Additionally, the tragedy prompted NASA to temporarily suspend all space shuttle missions.
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union witnessed the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history. Technicians at the Unit-4 reactor conducted a poorly planned experiment. They shut down the reactor's power regulation system along with its emergency safety systems. Workers removed too many control rods from the core and allowed the reactor to operate. Eventually, during the night, the chain reaction in the core became uncontrollable and triggered a series of explosions. The graphite reactor core caught fire and released a large amount of radioactive material directly into the atmosphere.
The collapse of the Rana Plaza in 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was the worst industrial disaster in recent times. The disaster claimed around 1,134 lives and injured at least 2,500 others. There were several glaring reasons behind the collapse of Rana Plaza. Firstly, the building was constructed on filled-in ponds, jeopardizing its structural integrity. It had three more floors than its original permit, and its construction materials were substandard. Additionally, the negligence of the manufacturers was astonishing, and all factors pointed to an inevitable collapse of the commercial site.
