Top 10
History's most expensive accidents
10. Titanic – 150 millions US$
The sank of the Titanic is probably the most famous accident in history. It is, however, only the beginning of our list, in terms of damages proportions. On 15 April 1912, Titanic, considered at that time the most luxurious ship ever built, was sunk during its first voyage. More than 1,500 people lost their lives when the boat smashed an iceberg and immersed in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. On its construction, the Titanic cost seven million dollars, equivalent to 150 million $ today.
9. Truck versus Wiehltal – 358 millions $
August 26th 2004, a car came into collision on Wiehltal Bridge in Germany with a huge truck carrying a 32,000 liters tank of fuel. Flammable liquid tank crossed the bridge parapet and fell down on the A4 motorway, from a height of 30 meters, triggering an explosion and a fire which destroyed the entire bridge. Temporary repairs have cost 40 million dollars, then later, the replacement of the bridge was estimated at 318 million dollars.
8. Collision of a Metrolink train - 500 million $
September 15th 2008, one of the most terrible railway accidents, when 25 people lost their lives after a Metrolink's passengers train crashed into an Union Pacific's goods train near Los Angeles. Investigators came to the conclusion that Metrolink's train had advanced, despite the visual signal of red color, because the train's driver was distracted by sending a message using the mobile phone. Total damages plus court costs of Metrolink rose to approximately 500 million dollars.
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7. B-2 Bomber - 1.4 billion US$
February 23rd 2008, a B-2 bomber, a.k.a. the Stealth, crashed shortly after taking off from the strip of a Guam's military base. Investigations led to blaming distorted data of the flight console on board the aircraft, caused by some moisture in the system. This error has influenced a sudden turn of the plane, causing the B-2 loose control, then drift and finally crash. It's one of the 21 Stealth bombers ever built and is the most expensive aviation accident of all times. Both pilots managed to be propelled from the aircraft in time to launch their parachutes and survive. The damage was amounting to 1.4 billion dollars.
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6. Exxon Valdez - 2.5 billion US$
March 24th 1989, 40 million liters of oil have been dumped in Prince William's stew waters, in southern Alaska, when Exxon Valdez barge smashed into a reef, after the vessel's captain, Joseph Hazelwood, left the order desk for unknown reasons. Exxon Valdez oil barge is not among the largest such platform in the world, but the destruction was extremely costly due to the threat of ecological disaster. Cleaning the waters "relieved" the Exxon company of 2.5 billion dollars.
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5. Piper Alpha's oil platform - 3.4 billion US$
July 6th 1988, on Piper Alpha's platform, which used to be some time ago the only giant offshore oil producer, with a daily extraction estimated at 40 million liters. That day, as part of maintenance operations, the technicians have removed and checked the safety valves, essential in preventing dangerous accumulation of liquid gas. 100 such identical valves have been checked. Unfortunately, they've missed to replace one that required intervention. At 22.00, the same night, another technician tried to activate the liquid gas pumps and most expensive ever accident occurred on board an oil platform was initiated. In two hours, the 90 meters high platform, was entirely covered with flames. Lastly, it crashed, causing 167 deaths and material damage worth 3.4 billion dollars.
4. Challenger Space Ship - 5.5 billion US$
January 28th 1986, Challenger was destroyed exactly 73 seconds after take off, due to a faulty gasket. It failed to seal the perfect combination of two modules, allowing pressurized gas to trot out the spacecraft. The error led to releasing liquid hydrogen from an external tank, which caused the massive explosion. Aircraft replacement costs were 2 billion dollars in 1986, equivalent to 4.5 billion U.S. dollars today. Also, investigation for correcting problems and replacement of lost equipment was about 450 million U.S. dollars between 1986 and 1987, approximately one billion dollars today.
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3. Prestige's oil leakage - 12 billion US$
November 13th 2002, Prestige oil barge was carrying 77,000 tonnes of oil near Galicia-Spain, when one of the 12 tanks on board ignited, during a storm. Fearing the ship might sink, the captain asked for help to the Spanish coastguards rescue teams, hoping they will house the ship in port. In spite of captain's efforts, local authorities forced him to move Prestige away from the coast. He then tried to get help from both French and Portuguese authorities, but they also ordered the removal of the ship away their shores. Finally, the storm broke the barge in half, resulting in the discharge of over 70 million liters of oil into the sea. Cleaning operations were raised to the value of 12 billion dollars.
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2. Columbia Space Ship - 13 billion US$
Colombia was the first space shuttle of real performance from the orbital fleet launched by NASA. The aircraft was destroyed when coming into Earth's atmosphere on 1 February 2003, due to fissures to a wing, gained during the launch performed 16 days before. Initial construction costs for the aircraft were two billion dollars in 1978, about 6.3 billion today. 500 million U.S. dollars have been spent on investigations carried out to indicate the causes of the accident, while searching and recovering of scraps required another 300 million dollars. Finally, the total price of the event, not including replacement shuttle, amounted to 13 billion dollars, according to American Institute of Aeronautics.
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1. Chernobyl - 200 billion US$
April 26th 1986, the world was witness to the most expensive accident recorded in history. Disaster at Chernobyl was categorized as the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in the history of the world by peace. Over 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes and reintegrate into other areas, while 1.7 million people were directly affected by nuclear disaster. The number of deaths caused by the Chernobyl explosion, including people who died of cancer years after the event, amounted to over 125,000. Total costs, such as site cleaning, reorganization and compensation to victims, have amounted to about 200 billion dollars. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl atomic center will cost two billion dollars. Accident had been officially assigned to the operators who deviated from the conventional procedures and have ignored the imposed safety rules.
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History's most expensive accidents
10. Titanic – 150 millions US$
The sank of the Titanic is probably the most famous accident in history. It is, however, only the beginning of our list, in terms of damages proportions. On 15 April 1912, Titanic, considered at that time the most luxurious ship ever built, was sunk during its first voyage. More than 1,500 people lost their lives when the boat smashed an iceberg and immersed in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. On its construction, the Titanic cost seven million dollars, equivalent to 150 million $ today.
9. Truck versus Wiehltal – 358 millions $
August 26th 2004, a car came into collision on Wiehltal Bridge in Germany with a huge truck carrying a 32,000 liters tank of fuel. Flammable liquid tank crossed the bridge parapet and fell down on the A4 motorway, from a height of 30 meters, triggering an explosion and a fire which destroyed the entire bridge. Temporary repairs have cost 40 million dollars, then later, the replacement of the bridge was estimated at 318 million dollars.
8. Collision of a Metrolink train - 500 million $
September 15th 2008, one of the most terrible railway accidents, when 25 people lost their lives after a Metrolink's passengers train crashed into an Union Pacific's goods train near Los Angeles. Investigators came to the conclusion that Metrolink's train had advanced, despite the visual signal of red color, because the train's driver was distracted by sending a message using the mobile phone. Total damages plus court costs of Metrolink rose to approximately 500 million dollars.
Video:
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http://www.[media=youtube]ddrMrRNHE04[/media]7. B-2 Bomber - 1.4 billion US$
February 23rd 2008, a B-2 bomber, a.k.a. the Stealth, crashed shortly after taking off from the strip of a Guam's military base. Investigations led to blaming distorted data of the flight console on board the aircraft, caused by some moisture in the system. This error has influenced a sudden turn of the plane, causing the B-2 loose control, then drift and finally crash. It's one of the 21 Stealth bombers ever built and is the most expensive aviation accident of all times. Both pilots managed to be propelled from the aircraft in time to launch their parachutes and survive. The damage was amounting to 1.4 billion dollars.
Video:
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http://www.[media=youtube]_ZCp5h1gK2Q[/media]6. Exxon Valdez - 2.5 billion US$
March 24th 1989, 40 million liters of oil have been dumped in Prince William's stew waters, in southern Alaska, when Exxon Valdez barge smashed into a reef, after the vessel's captain, Joseph Hazelwood, left the order desk for unknown reasons. Exxon Valdez oil barge is not among the largest such platform in the world, but the destruction was extremely costly due to the threat of ecological disaster. Cleaning the waters "relieved" the Exxon company of 2.5 billion dollars.
Video:
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http://www.[media=youtube]G1U-iWUPOYA[/media]5. Piper Alpha's oil platform - 3.4 billion US$
July 6th 1988, on Piper Alpha's platform, which used to be some time ago the only giant offshore oil producer, with a daily extraction estimated at 40 million liters. That day, as part of maintenance operations, the technicians have removed and checked the safety valves, essential in preventing dangerous accumulation of liquid gas. 100 such identical valves have been checked. Unfortunately, they've missed to replace one that required intervention. At 22.00, the same night, another technician tried to activate the liquid gas pumps and most expensive ever accident occurred on board an oil platform was initiated. In two hours, the 90 meters high platform, was entirely covered with flames. Lastly, it crashed, causing 167 deaths and material damage worth 3.4 billion dollars.
4. Challenger Space Ship - 5.5 billion US$
January 28th 1986, Challenger was destroyed exactly 73 seconds after take off, due to a faulty gasket. It failed to seal the perfect combination of two modules, allowing pressurized gas to trot out the spacecraft. The error led to releasing liquid hydrogen from an external tank, which caused the massive explosion. Aircraft replacement costs were 2 billion dollars in 1986, equivalent to 4.5 billion U.S. dollars today. Also, investigation for correcting problems and replacement of lost equipment was about 450 million U.S. dollars between 1986 and 1987, approximately one billion dollars today.
Video:
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http://www.[media=youtube]6JkSnnDMWBU[/media]3. Prestige's oil leakage - 12 billion US$
November 13th 2002, Prestige oil barge was carrying 77,000 tonnes of oil near Galicia-Spain, when one of the 12 tanks on board ignited, during a storm. Fearing the ship might sink, the captain asked for help to the Spanish coastguards rescue teams, hoping they will house the ship in port. In spite of captain's efforts, local authorities forced him to move Prestige away from the coast. He then tried to get help from both French and Portuguese authorities, but they also ordered the removal of the ship away their shores. Finally, the storm broke the barge in half, resulting in the discharge of over 70 million liters of oil into the sea. Cleaning operations were raised to the value of 12 billion dollars.
Video:
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http://www.[media=youtube]JKFQxpWbbu8[/media]2. Columbia Space Ship - 13 billion US$
Colombia was the first space shuttle of real performance from the orbital fleet launched by NASA. The aircraft was destroyed when coming into Earth's atmosphere on 1 February 2003, due to fissures to a wing, gained during the launch performed 16 days before. Initial construction costs for the aircraft were two billion dollars in 1978, about 6.3 billion today. 500 million U.S. dollars have been spent on investigations carried out to indicate the causes of the accident, while searching and recovering of scraps required another 300 million dollars. Finally, the total price of the event, not including replacement shuttle, amounted to 13 billion dollars, according to American Institute of Aeronautics.
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http://www.[media=youtube]LijS7XP4vp8[/media]1. Chernobyl - 200 billion US$
April 26th 1986, the world was witness to the most expensive accident recorded in history. Disaster at Chernobyl was categorized as the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in the history of the world by peace. Over 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes and reintegrate into other areas, while 1.7 million people were directly affected by nuclear disaster. The number of deaths caused by the Chernobyl explosion, including people who died of cancer years after the event, amounted to over 125,000. Total costs, such as site cleaning, reorganization and compensation to victims, have amounted to about 200 billion dollars. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl atomic center will cost two billion dollars. Accident had been officially assigned to the operators who deviated from the conventional procedures and have ignored the imposed safety rules.
Video:
Code:
http://www.[media=youtube]8GKceWlDWBc[/media]
