In 2021 the Callide C Power Station experienced a unit failure that tore the turbine-generator apart, resulted in hundreds of thousands of premises losing power, and cost hundreds of millions to repair. We look at how design errors and ultimate

Colonial Pipeline

Dec 9th, 2023 26m 12s

In 2021 many of Colonial Pipelines IT systems were locked by malware and out of caution they shutdown the fuel pipelines feeding nearly half of the Eastern US leading to chaos at the gas pump and a state of emergency being declared. We look at

I35 West

Aug 27th, 2023 36m

The I35W bridge over the Mississippi River carried 140,000 cars every day. Inspections in 1999 and 2003 showed damage to support plates that was dismissed as unimportant at the time. We look into how poor design checking and assumptions led to

737 MAX Ethiopian Air

Apr 22nd, 2023 52m 7s

Five months after Lion Air 610 crashed, another 737-MAX went down with a similar cause. However the official report was at odds with two other internationally respected investigative organisations. We dig into the detail of how the AOA Sensor w

Carmel Fireworks Explosion

Jan 18th, 2023 29m 4s

A fireworks company in Western Australia that had been in business for nearly a century, were preparing for a fireworks display in their packing shed when one ignited and set off a fire and an explosion. Onlookers were shocked when there was a

Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia

Nov 18th, 2022 33m 9s

When a radiation therapy machine was left behind during a move between buildings in central Brazil, it set in motion a series of events that would lead to one of the worst radiological incidents in history. We look into how bureaucracy and misd

Hyatt Regency Kansas City

Jul 15th, 2022 41m 31s

The tallest building in Missouri with a large atrium perfect for big bands and dancing, hosted a regular Tea Dance in the summer of 1981. When two walkways collapsed killing over a hundred people, the investigators found multiple fundamental de

Mindbender

May 16th, 2022 29m 29s

The longest, tallest, fastest indoor rollercoaster in the world was only open six months when the last carriage of a train came loose, killing three people and all that the day following an inspection that the ride was safe to operate. We look

Granville

Apr 2nd, 2022 25m 53s

In 1977, a commuter train from the Blue Mountains, destined for Sydney central station would derail just before Granville Station, causing a bridge to collapse and crush many aboard. It remains Australia's worst ever rail disaster that was pred

Beirut Warehouse 12

Feb 10th, 2022 31m 55s

In Beirut in August of 2020, an explosion at the Port of Beirut destroyed a huge part of the city. We look into how an oxidising agent, improperly handled can become an explosive and attempt to comprehend how something so dangerous was ignored

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

Nov 9th, 2021 27m 21s

In 1911 in Manhattan, New York, a clothing factory went up in flames just before closing time. We look at how faulty equipment, poor design and a fear of theft contributed to a wholly preventable incident that had such terrible consequences, bu

Royal Canberra Hospital

Sep 16th, 2021 45m 14s

The original Royal Canberra Hospital was flagged to be demolished in 1997 to make way for the new National Museum. A demolition via implosion was selected, but the implosion resulted in an explosion instead, and debris showered the huge crowd o

Florida International University

Jul 8th, 2021 43m 10s

The university wanted a bridge for its students over a busy roadway that would appear intriguing from afar. Instead it collapsed before it was even finished. We look into how design errors, poor peer review and denial led to a collapse that cla

Ocean Ranger

May 24th, 2021 46m 36s

The largest semi-submersible Offshore Drilling Rig of its day, sank in a storm in 1982 whilst two smaller nearby rigs survived with minimal damage. We dive into how not closing a portlight cover, triggered a series of events that cost 84 people

Therac-25

Mar 23rd, 2021 53m 10s

The successor to the Therac-6 and Therac-20 RadioTherapy machines would integrate the powerful DEC PDP-11 mini-computer to control all of the Therac-25s functions, including the safety interlocks, for the first time. In two years the 11 machine

Thunder River Rapids

Jan 24th, 2021 36m 35s

A popular family-friendly ride at DreamWorld would claim the lives of four people in 2016. In nearly thirty years of operation the ride had several similar but non-fatal incidents with blame placed on the operator every time, when a three thous

Variola Birmingham

Nov 26th, 2020 34m 30s

In 1978 on the cusp of the eradication of SmallPox a Medical Photographer became infected and would ultimately die from the Variola virus. We look at how admiration, promotion and delegation led to a wholly avoidable outcome.With John Chidgey.I

Big Dig

Sep 15th, 2020 31m 47s

A series of concrete ceiling tiles in a tunnel portal collapsed on a moving car killing the passenger in downtown Boston in 2006. The selection of the epoxy used in the ceiling tile anchors was unusual and a failure to heed the warning signs we

San Bruno

Jul 26th, 2020 49m 33s

A modification made in 1956 to a pipeline built in the 1940s would ultimately fail costing 8 people their lives in 2010. We look at what went wrong with PG&Es gas pipeline in San Bruno, California.With John Chidgey.Investigation and Reports:N

Aberfan

May 7th, 2020 34m 44s

One Friday morning in 1966 in a small town in Wales a mining spoils waste tip let go with a river of liquified rubble destroying buildings and a school. Killing 144 people, mostly children in their classrooms. The mechanics of how this happened

737 MAX

Jan 30th, 2020 1h 5m

With two crashes in five months of the new 737 4th Generation a design flaw seemed likely. We look at how Boeings focus on cost-avoidance, grandfathering and bending probabilities during design would ultimately cost 346 people their lives.With

Walkerton

Dec 6th, 2019 33m 48s

In 2000 the small township of Walkerton Ontario witnessed the largest outbreak of E.Coli infections in Canada's history. The water utility claimed the town water was safe, but it wasn't and many people paid with their lives.With John Chidgey.Li

Black Energy

Oct 3rd, 2019 26m 13s

The evening before Christmas Eve in 2015 saw a widespread blackout of the power grid across the Ukraine. We look at how a cyber-attack on electric utility companies in Europe, changed how cyber-security is regarded in control systems, forever.W

Tim Maia

Jul 4th, 2019 19m 6s

As part of Rio's preparations for the Olympics in 2016 a cycling pathway was built adjacent to a narrow, congested roadway along a picturesque shoreline. When a section collapsed only months before the opening ceremony killing two people, the w

Flight 1549

Jun 4th, 2019 23m 29s

In 2009 an AirBus A320 departing LaGuardia Airport in New York suffered a dual engine failure due to a bird strike during takeoff. In a highly improbable event an equally highly improbable landing in the Hudson River shocked and amazed the worl