Engineering Disasters Season 1, Episode 8: Exploding Manhole Covers

Heartland Explosion

60 min

Freight Train Collision

This episode investigates a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair that leaves seven concertgoers dead. Is a gas leak to blame for an explosion in New York City that levels two buildings and kills eight people in their homes? Disaster strikes on an airliner at 36,000 feet as a gaping hole suddenly rips open midflight. Engineers in Japan scramble to save the lives of millions as an epic radioactive release looms. And, how could a train crossing be the site of not one, but two disastrous auto collisions in a single year?

60 min

Kentucky Sinkhole

Why did a 72 oil-car runaway train crash, killing 47 people and levelling half a town? Was it the brakes? Also, can engineers do anything to fix a gaping sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum, so car enthusiasts can safely return? And, what caused the Minneapolis Metrodome's iconic roof to collapse? Was it an engineering flaw or Mother Nature? Football fans want to know. Then, as 33 Chilean miners await their ultimate fate, trapped almost a half mile underground, mine drilling engineers scramble to dig a hole big enough to rescue them. Can a special drill make it though through earth harder than granite? And finally, JetBlue flight 194 started out like any other for 149 passengers. But just minutes into the journey, the airplane is almost crippled by a sudden hydraulic failure.

60 min

Colorado Dam Disaster

A storm of the century takes out nine dams in Colorado, flooding entire towns and leaving thousands stranded. A train carrying hazardous materials derails, releasing toxic vapors throughout a small NJ community. A natural gas line breaks and reduces a neighborhood to ashes and rubble. A cargo jet crashes seconds after take off in Afghanistan. And, a luxury cruise goes from smooth sailing to wrecked on the rocks.

60 min

California Pipeline Catastrophe

An explosion in a San Bruno, California neighborhood destroys homes and kills residents. An experienced captain and crew sail their ship into the path of Hurricane Sandy, leaving many asking why? A building full of 3,500 garment workers suddenly collapses and traps many of them inside. A warehouse full of fireworks goes off without any warning, causing evacuations and deaths. And trains arriving at the same place at the same time end up colliding… was it an engineering failure or human error?

60 min

Trapped Under Seattle

Why did Asiana flight 214, packed with passengers, suddenly crash land and cartwheel across San Francisco International Airport’s runway? Three families of the dead want answers. And, what triggered a massive explosion at a chemical plant outside Wichita, Kansas? Chemical engineers and investigators hunt for clues, and find the same danger exists throughout the entire country. Then, dangerous sinkholes exist in 20 percent of the United States. Isn’t there anything that geotechnical engineers can do to protect property and lives? Also, next time you’re on a cruise vacation, it helps to know what could go wrong, based on a disastrous fire at sea on the Carnival Triumph. But can mega-ship engineering be fixed to avoid another cruise from hell? Finally, throughout the country, crucial infrastructure is falling apart. A mega-tunnel in Seattle is just one of the big fixes, but how can engineers finish their work when the world’s largest tunneling tool is stuck underground?

60 min

Raging Rocket

This episode investigates a mudslide that swallows an entire neighborhood, leaving scientists baffled. A rocket on its way to the international space station suddenly bursts into flames just seconds after liftoff. What caused one of the busiest commuter train lines in the country to fly off the tracks twice in just six months? A West Virginia coal mine mysteriously ignites, killing 29 miners inside. And, could engineering be to blame for the death of more than two hundred thousand people in Haiti?

60 min