Modern Marvels

A look at some of history's most notorious engineering failures. Included are the USMC's Harrier Attack jet, the Piper Alpha North Sea oil platform fire, the collapse of the Pleasants Power Station cooling tower in West Virginia, and the derailment of high speed train in Germany. Also include is a look at the various close calls that almost led to nuclear war.

Featured disasters include the Northridge Earthquake of 1994, the Baldwin Hills Dam collapses, the Electra airliner, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse, and the underground mine fire burning in Centralia, PA.

Explosions of AP (a component in rocket fuel) at a PepCom AP plant in Henderson, Nevada. A section of the Mianus River bridge, a pin-and-hanger-bridge on Interstate 95 in Connecticut, collapsed dropping 4 vehicles into the river below. Ocean Ranger semi-submersible oil rig capsizes and sinks off the coast of Newfoundland killing all aboard. 1889 Johnstown Flood, killed 2,209 people, wiped the town off the map and was the worst 19th Century disaster in American history. Golfer Payne Stewart's private jet goes down for reasons still unknown.

Deadliest grain elevator explosion in the US caused by dust. A portion of the Schoharie Creek Bridge collapses with trucks & cars plunging into the river, due to erosion of the foundation by the river. The freighter Bright Field looses power heading into its New Orleans' port on the Mississippi River and crashes into the Riverwalk wharf. British R-101 airship disaster in 1930, resulted in 48 deaths and the ending of the British airship program. Sports arena roof failures. 1979 Rosemount Horizon arena's roof collapses during construction due to the construction crew ...

Disiasters discussed: Hutchinson, KS gas explosions, Tanker, Puerto Rican, explosion, Tropicana Casino garage collapse, the White Sea Canal project and the Bhopal chemical plant disaster.

Disasters profiled are a liquid natural gas explosion in Cleveland, the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt walkway, flooding of the Yangtze River in 1931, as well as sinkholes caused by sewer collapses in San Francisco and Atlanta. Also features the impacts of asbestos on the modern world.

Featured disasters and mishaps include the malfunctioning baggage carousel at the Denver International Airport, the Texas A&M bonfire, the M-4 Sherman tank, the 1993 Milwaukee Water Treatment disaster, and the collapse of the Skyline Plaza.

Engineering disasters profiled in this episode include flaws in the Patriot Missle system, the Cocoanut Grove night club fire, a failed building demolition, the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7, and a toxic waste dump in Love Canal, NY.

Profiled are disasters involving a freeway ramp collapse, a fighter plane crash, a subway tunnel cave in, an explosion on an oil tanker, and a flash flood of molasses.

Engineering disasters profiled include a flood in Chicago, tunnel fires in the Alpine, a riverboat explosion, a building collapse, and a plane crash.

Engineering Disasters: Gasoline explosion in a sewer pipe in Guadalajara, Mexico; Cargo door flies off of a 1974 flight over Paris resulting in over 300 deaths; The bursting of two mining damns in 1985 Italy, sees the town of Stava almost wiped off the face of the Earth; New London, Texas school explosion caused by natural gas, resulting in the death of 319 students & teachers; 1967 grounding of the Torrey Canyon tanker off the coast of England and the worlds' introduction to supertanker oil spills and problems with autopilot technology.