Comments on: Embarrassing Moments in Engineering (and what they taught us)

By: Spat

Spat — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:51:06 +0000

@ed browne: I propose that the KC Hotel walkway collapse wasn’t poor engineering, but rather a negligent disregard to the design specification during construction. Of course, it could be debated that a better design might’ve avoided the need for long-threaded bolts, but that’s a whole other discussion…

I’d also place the Citicorp Tower in this category.

One big engineering blunder not mentioned is the de Havilland Comet–the first commercial jet airliner. Poorly understood engineering data regarding metal fatigue caused by repeated pressurization cycles led to several catastrophic in-flight failures of the aircraft’s fuselage.

By: ed browne

ed browne — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:38:23 +0000

Kansas City hotel walkway collapse.
Another contractor change; killed many.

Could not find threaded rod long enough,
so instead of using threaded couplings, the project manager approved a change in configuration that doubled the actual
loads at the failure points (which had
attachments that were already marginal).

The change was poorly reviewed
an signed off.

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:14:20 +0000

Engineering is about more than bridges and buildings. Let’s not forget the Intel Pentium processor division (FDIV) bug. That one was remarkably embarrassing world-wide.

The Mars Surveyor ‘98 Program is an example another kind of engineering failure, well-known to every engineer.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:12:45 +0000

Check out the Lake Peigneur disaster — in 1980, an engineering miscalculation in a salt mine under the Louisiana lake led to a whirlpool that devestated the lake and sucked entire barges down in the mine. The video is amazing — click my name for the link.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:08:10 +0000

Boston’s Big Dig? If you live in the Boston area you know what I’m talking about.

By: Datou

Datou — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:16:08 +0000

I flew into Kansai last year. Beautiful airport and a joy to get in and out of. I wish I knew the history when I flew there.

By: DB

DB — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:17:50 +0000

Huh, that Tacoma Narrows bridge part makes the problem sound a lot worse (design-wise) than I think it actually was. From what I’ve had to study, they were just missing a certain type of crossbeam.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:43:31 +0000

As a resident of Minneapolis, I think it’s good to remember that not all structures are perfectly engineered. The horrible tragedy of the 35W bridge actually instigated many bridge inspections and awareness about our large structures.

By: James Schend

James Schend — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:22:42 +0000

The article’s wording is a little strange, so I’d just like to say that the Tacoma Narrows bridge isn’t over a river. (And it’s definitely not almost 3,000 feet over a riverbed! Although it is 3,000 feet long…)

It’s build over a particular narrow section of the Puget Sound which is just called “Tacoma Narrows.” Not a river. :)

And I’ve always heard the story that the real lesson learned from the first Narrows bridge was more about resonance with steady wind speeds than stiffness, although I know both apply. After the Narrows collapse, though, engineers began running (scale models of) their designs through wind tunnels specifically to combat these problems.

By: Ed Williams, PE

Ed Williams, PE — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:56:47 +0000

Far from being one of engineering’s most embarrassing moments, the Citicorp Center’s close call was one of engineering’s finest moments. LeMessurier did not error in his design of the building. It was designed to take hurricane force winds. It was the contractor who erred (magnificently so) by changing the design without so much as informing the engineer. LeMessurier’s response, taking responsibility and seeing to repairs, is the perfect example of engineering ethics in action.