Examples of catastrophic failure of engineered structures include: • The
Tay Rail Bridge disaster of 1879, where the center of the bridge was completely destroyed while a train was crossing in a storm. The bridge was inadequately designed and its replacement was built as a separate structure upstream of the old. • The failure of the
South Fork Dam in 1889 released 4.8 billion US gallons (18 billion litres) of water and killed over 2,200 people (popularly known as the
Johnstown Flood). • The collapse of the
St. Francis Dam in 1928 released 12.4 billion US gallons (47 billion litres) of water, resulting in a death toll of nearly 600 people. • The collapse of the first
Tacoma Narrows Bridge of 1940, where the main deck of the road bridge was totally destroyed by dynamic oscillations in a wind. • The
De Havilland Comet disasters of 1954, later determined to be structural failures due to greater
metal fatigue than anticipated at the corners of windows. • The
failure of the Banqiao Dam and 61 others in China in 1975, due to
Typhoon Nina. Approximately 86,000 people died from flooding and another 145,000 died from subsequent diseases, a total of 231,000 deaths. • The
Hyatt Regency walkway collapse of 1981, where a suspended walkway in a hotel lobby in
Kansas City, Missouri, collapsed completely, killing over 100 people on and below the structure. • The
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986, in which an O-ring of a rocket booster failed, causing the external fuel tank to break up and making the shuttle veer off course, subjecting it to aerodynamic forces beyond design tolerances; the entire crew of 7 and vehicle were lost. • The
nuclear reactor at the
Chernobyl power plant, which
exploded in April 26, 1986 causing the release of a substantial amount of
radioactive materials. • The collapse of the
Warsaw radio mast of 1991, which had up to that point held the title of
world's tallest structure. • The
Sampoong Department Store collapse of 1995, which happened due to structural weaknesses, killed 502 people and injured 937. • The
terrorist attacks and subsequent fire at the
World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, weakened the floor
joists to the point of catastrophic failure. • The
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003, where damage to a wing during launch resulted in total loss upon re-entry. • The collapse of the multi-span
I-35W Mississippi River bridge on August 1, 2007. • The collapse of the
Olivos-Tezonco Mexico City Metro overpass of 2021, which had structurally weakened over the years. ==See also==