From the Colossus of Rhodes and Egypt's pyramids to the Hoover Dam and the Space Shuttle, mankind has celebrated the work of engineers. But what happens when their calculations prove wrong? From Hammurabi, who passed the first building laws, to today's potential disasters that can wipe out a whole city, we review engineering mistakes.

An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial engineering failures. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic experts, and footage of disasters, we seek to understand what went wrong and how mishap led to remedy. Stories include: the Marines' AV-8 Harrier "Jump Jet"; the Ford Explorer/Firestone rollovers; fire on the Piper Alpha offshore oilrig; derailment of a high-speed train in Germany; and computer errors that brought the world to the brink of accidental nuclear war.

What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and their constructs come tumbling down? In this episode, we examine the 1987 failure of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York; the partial destruction by a runaway freighter of the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans in 1996; the roof collapse of the Rosemont Horizon Arena in Illinois in 1979; the deadliest grain-dust explosion on record in Westwego, Louisiana, when a grain elevator exploded in 1977; and the crash of the British R101 airship in the 1920s.

Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India, where a toxic chemical release killed 3,800 people and left 11,000 with disabling respiratory ailments; and the 2003 sudden collapse of a 10-story parking garage at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey that killed four and injured 20. We find out why a series of structures in Hutchinson, Kansas mysteriously caught fire and exploded in 2001; and examine the 1933 construction of a canal ordered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that later proved to be nearly useless and cost many lives. And we get to the bottom of a maritime mystery, when a tanker carrying non-explosive materials in San Francisco Bay blew up in 1983.

In March of 2005, the BP Refinery in Texas City, Texas, suffered a series of explosions that decimated a large portion of the facility and killed 15 workers. Examine the series of events that led to one of the worst industrial accidents in the United States. Then we'll document the unusual circumstances that caused American Airlines flight 587 to fall from the sky. What happened in Times Beach, Missouri, when a local waste hauler oiled down dusty roads with oil that was laced with dioxin? Next we'll look at what went wrong with NASA's Skylab in 1974 and finally we'll examine the fire that destroyed the gas company, Praxair, in June of 2005. Interviews with survivors help complete the picture.

To err is human... But when the error results in the loss of life, it's a disaster. Learn about one of the most mysterious maritime disasters of the decade--the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Was it possible that the nation was on the brink of war due to a faulty circuit board? What caused the Buffalo Creek Dam disaster in West Virginia? Finally, delve into the explosion of a super tanker in Los Angeles harbor. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic engineering experts, and footage of the actual disasters, an in-depth look can be taken of what went wrong, and how the disasters have led to industry improvements.

One of the deadliest natural disasters experienced by US, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans--submerging it under a torrent of floodwater. We investigate why the levees and water-pumping system failed and join a'Geological Detective as he sifts through the rubble to uncover how 80% of the city was left underwater and discovers how the levee system was a potential disaster in the making. We also delve deep into the 80-year-old pumping system to unearth how it flooded and why it took weeks to drain the city of up to 25 feet of water. We learn the engineering cause behind the nightmare suffered by victims seeking shelter in the Superdome. And our investigators discover the design flaws on one of the major escape routes of the city. Using satellite global positioning, we find that New Orleans and the entire Louisiana wetland coastline are actually sinking. How can New Orleans stop this from ever happening again and should it be rebuilt at all?

From the Colossus of Rhodes and Egypt's pyramids to the Hoover Dam and the Space Shuttle, mankind has celebrated the work of engineers. But what happens when their calculations prove wrong? From Hammurabi, who passed the first building laws, to today's potential disasters that can wipe out a whole city, we review engineering mistakes.

An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial engineering failures. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic experts, and footage of disasters, we seek to understand what went wrong and how mishap led to remedy. Stories include: the Marines' AV-8 Harrier "Jump Jet"; the Ford Explorer/Firestone rollovers; fire on the Piper Alpha offshore oilrig; derailment of a high-speed train in Germany; and computer errors that brought the world to the brink of accidental nuclear war.

What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and their constructs come tumbling down? In this episode, we examine the 1987 failure of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York; the partial destruction by a runaway freighter of the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans in 1996; the roof collapse of the Rosemont Horizon Arena in Illinois in 1979; the deadliest grain-dust explosion on record in Westwego, Louisiana, when a grain elevator exploded in 1977; and the crash of the British R101 airship in the 1920s.

Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India, where a toxic chemical release killed 3,800 people and left 11,000 with disabling respiratory ailments; and the 2003 sudden collapse of a 10-story parking garage at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey that killed four and injured 20. We find out why a series of structures in Hutchinson, Kansas mysteriously caught fire and exploded in 2001; and examine the 1933 construction of a canal ordered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that later proved to be nearly useless and cost many lives. And we get to the bottom of a maritime mystery, when a tanker carrying non-explosive materials in San Francisco Bay blew up in 1983.

In March of 2005, the BP Refinery in Texas City, Texas, suffered a series of explosions that decimated a large portion of the facility and killed 15 workers. Examine the series of events that led to one of the worst industrial accidents in the United States. Then we'll document the unusual circumstances that caused American Airlines flight 587 to fall from the sky. What happened in Times Beach, Missouri, when a local waste hauler oiled down dusty roads with oil that was laced with dioxin? Next we'll look at what went wrong with NASA's Skylab in 1974 and finally we'll examine the fire that destroyed the gas company, Praxair, in June of 2005. Interviews with survivors help complete the picture.

To err is human... But when the error results in the loss of life, it's a disaster. Learn about one of the most mysterious maritime disasters of the decade--the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Was it possible that the nation was on the brink of war due to a faulty circuit board? What caused the Buffalo Creek Dam disaster in West Virginia? Finally, delve into the explosion of a super tanker in Los Angeles harbor. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic engineering experts, and footage of the actual disasters, an in-depth look can be taken of what went wrong, and how the disasters have led to industry improvements.

One of the deadliest natural disasters experienced by US, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans--submerging it under a torrent of floodwater. We investigate why the levees and water-pumping system failed and join a'Geological Detective as he sifts through the rubble to uncover how 80% of the city was left underwater and discovers how the levee system was a potential disaster in the making. We also delve deep into the 80-year-old pumping system to unearth how it flooded and why it took weeks to drain the city of up to 25 feet of water. We learn the engineering cause behind the nightmare suffered by victims seeking shelter in the Superdome. And our investigators discover the design flaws on one of the major escape routes of the city. Using satellite global positioning, we find that New Orleans and the entire Louisiana wetland coastline are actually sinking. How can New Orleans stop this from ever happening again and should it be rebuilt at all?

From the Colossus of Rhodes and Egypt's pyramids to the Hoover Dam and the Space Shuttle, mankind has celebrated the work of engineers. But what happens when their calculations prove wrong? From Hammurabi, who passed the first building laws, to today's potential disasters that can wipe out a whole city, we review engineering mistakes.

An in-depth look at the modern era's most complex, deadly, and controversial engineering failures. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic experts, and footage of disasters, we seek to understand what went wrong and how mishap led to remedy. Stories include: the Marines' AV-8 Harrier "Jump Jet"; the Ford Explorer/Firestone rollovers; fire on the Piper Alpha offshore oilrig; derailment of a high-speed train in Germany; and computer errors that brought the world to the brink of accidental nuclear war.

What happens when the calculations of builders and engineers prove wrong and their constructs come tumbling down? In this episode, we examine the 1987 failure of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York; the partial destruction by a runaway freighter of the Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans in 1996; the roof collapse of the Rosemont Horizon Arena in Illinois in 1979; the deadliest grain-dust explosion on record in Westwego, Louisiana, when a grain elevator exploded in 1977; and the crash of the British R101 airship in the 1920s.

Disasters investigated include: the 1984 Union Carbide debacle in Bhopal, India, where a toxic chemical release killed 3,800 people and left 11,000 with disabling respiratory ailments; and the 2003 sudden collapse of a 10-story parking garage at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey that killed four and injured 20. We find out why a series of structures in Hutchinson, Kansas mysteriously caught fire and exploded in 2001; and examine the 1933 construction of a canal ordered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that later proved to be nearly useless and cost many lives. And we get to the bottom of a maritime mystery, when a tanker carrying non-explosive materials in San Francisco Bay blew up in 1983.

In March of 2005, the BP Refinery in Texas City, Texas, suffered a series of explosions that decimated a large portion of the facility and killed 15 workers. Examine the series of events that led to one of the worst industrial accidents in the United States. Then we'll document the unusual circumstances that caused American Airlines flight 587 to fall from the sky. What happened in Times Beach, Missouri, when a local waste hauler oiled down dusty roads with oil that was laced with dioxin? Next we'll look at what went wrong with NASA's Skylab in 1974 and finally we'll examine the fire that destroyed the gas company, Praxair, in June of 2005. Interviews with survivors help complete the picture.

To err is human... But when the error results in the loss of life, it's a disaster. Learn about one of the most mysterious maritime disasters of the decade--the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Was it possible that the nation was on the brink of war due to a faulty circuit board? What caused the Buffalo Creek Dam disaster in West Virginia? Finally, delve into the explosion of a super tanker in Los Angeles harbor. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic engineering experts, and footage of the actual disasters, an in-depth look can be taken of what went wrong, and how the disasters have led to industry improvements.

One of the deadliest natural disasters experienced by US, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans--submerging it under a torrent of floodwater. We investigate why the levees and water-pumping system failed and join a'Geological Detective as he sifts through the rubble to uncover how 80% of the city was left underwater and discovers how the levee system was a potential disaster in the making. We also delve deep into the 80-year-old pumping system to unearth how it flooded and why it took weeks to drain the city of up to 25 feet of water. We learn the engineering cause behind the nightmare suffered by victims seeking shelter in the Superdome. And our investigators discover the design flaws on one of the major escape routes of the city. Using satellite global positioning, we find that New Orleans and the entire Louisiana wetland coastline are actually sinking. How can New Orleans stop this from ever happening again and should it be rebuilt at all?