6 Most Famous Engineering Disasters

 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (2003)

On February 1, 2003 the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during its reentry to the Earth’s atmosphere, killing its entire crew of 7 astronauts. The investigation showed that during the launch, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the shuttle and hit the left wing, damaging the tiles that protect the shuttle from the incredible heat produced during reentry. Upon reentry, these tiles failed, causing the the quick chain of events that ended up with the disintegration of the shuttle.