Disasters Caused by Negligence

It’s always unfortunate when some terrible catastrophe unfolds and claims hundreds and thousands of lives in the process. But once the storm clears, we often find out that many of those disasters could have been avoided by those in charge who either refused to listen to the experts or just simply turned a blind eye to what was coming. These five tragic events below are prime examples of what happens when humans make really horrible decisions.\r \r 1. Chernobyl (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union)\r \r Ah yes, the infamous Chernobyl disaster of April 1986. Given the documented poor engineering and operational negligence, it was only a matter of time when things got out of control. The Chernobyl plant was basically prone to unstable operation and possible meltdowns if strict parameters were not met due to the substandard equipment making up the reactor. And not to mention the brazen violation of rules based on technical specifications which led to the overheating of the reactor.\r \r 2. Sampoong Department Store Collapse (South Korea)\r \r On June 29, 1995, 502 people lost their lives following the sudden collapse of Seoul’s Sampoong Department Store. The tragedy was one that was entirely preventable if only the store’s owner Lee Joon didn’t make so many unnecessary shortcuts after changing his initial plan of creating apartment buildings to a commercial project. He also fired many of his construction crew who expressed their disapproval and bribed the rest. Upon seeing signs of a possible collapse, Lee Joon moved his executives and merchandise of value while leaving everyone else to their fated doom.\r \r 3. Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse (United States)\r \r The Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse remains to this day as a textbook case of engineering negligence. On July 17, 1981, a total of 114 people died and many more were severely injured due to a long list of issues that were uncovered post-disaster. Tie rods and installations supporting the walkway were found to be in violation of city building codes. Not only were they placed in a weak spot, but the loads placed on the rods stemmed from a design change performed without proper calculations, leading to the second floor hanging from the inadequately supported fourth floor. \r \r 4. Air France Air Show Crash (France)\r \r On June 26, 1988, the Air France Air Show took an unexpected turn when Air France Airbus A320 crashed into the woods near the runway at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport. Apparently, the airplane decided to perform a risky maneuver despite having passengers onboard by flying at a low altitude of just 100 feet in a low speed pass. This decision directly violated three of the major rules of airshow and in the end, three people died in the burning wreckage while the rest survived, though with significant injuries.\r \r 5. Japan Airlines Flight 123 (Japan)\r \r The Japan Airline Flight 123 is yet another example of carelessness from start to finish. The cause of the crash was determined to be due to a poor repair job in the tail region of the aircraft by Boeing which led to depressurization and eventual crashing into a ridge near Mount Fuji. However, many passengers survived the initial crash but many more lives were lost following the Japanese government’s refusal to accept help from the US Air Force who arrived within 20 minutes of the crash. The Japanese National Self-Defense Force didn’t make it until another 14 hours; only four people survived while the rest succumbed to their injuries.