Watch Engineering Disasters

On this episode, a modern jetliner crashes with 228 people on board. An oil refinery erupts in Utah, sending shockwaves through town and damaging over 100 homes. Manhole covers explode around the country, killing people and destroying property. A coal filled freight train derails, and buries two women sitting near the tracks. And, a routine elevator ride turns deadly.

Trapped Under Seattle

This episode investigates a mudslide that swallows an entire neighborhood, leaving scientists baffled.

An explosion in a San Bruno, California neighborhood destroys homes and kills residents.

On this episode, 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.

What caused a 72 oil-car runaway train crash, killing 47 people and leveling half a town? Can engineers do anything to fix a gaping sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum? What caused the Minneapolis Metrodome's iconic roof to collapse? 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. 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.

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.

An explosion in Texas wreaks havoc on a small town.