Six engineering disasters from the archives

Engineering is at the root of many of man's greatest achievements, from the complex communications systems that connect us, to the rocket-powered vehicles that propel us to the stars. But when engineering fails, the consequences can be severe, often resulting in the loss of human life. Here, we take a look back at six disasters from the archives of The Engineer, providing a reminder of just how high the stakes can be for engineering.

In comparison to some of the other entries in this series, this registers more as an engineering inconvenience rather than a disaster. The cable was laid across the Atlantic by none other than Brunel's Great Eastern, refitted expressly for the purpose. But problems confounded the engineers on board, as well as our Victorian predecessors, who claimed that "The cable was bewitched,’ and that 'there was no knowing where a fresh fault would appear."

READ THE ENGINEER'S ARCHIVE REVISIT HERE