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[narrator] The crack was in a critical girder
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Engineering Catastrophes

The crackwas in a critical girder, which held one of the archestightly in place. If the...

[narrator] The crack
was in a critical girder, which held one of the arches
tightly in place. If the girder failed
just like a bow string, it could release the tension
and the whole bridge it could release the tension
and the whole bridge could crash down into
the mighty Mississippi below

Full Transcript

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.001
[narrator] The crack was in a critical girder,
00:00:03.166 --> 00:00:06.467
which held one of the arches tightly in place.
00:00:06.467 --> 00:00:09.166
If the girder failed just like a bow string,
00:00:09.166 --> 00:00:11.000
it could release the tension and the whole bridge
00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:11.009
it could release the tension and the whole bridge
00:00:11.967 --> 00:00:12.000
could crash down into the mighty Mississippi below.
Duration
13 seconds
Views
23
Timestamp in Movie
00:08:50
Uploaded
Oct 28, 2025
Season
6
Episode
4
Genres
documentary
Production
Moviecoop

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Movie Summary

With access to all phases of design and a large cast of experts, some of the great failures of engineering history are uncovered.
S06 • E09 Civil Engineering Professor Tracy Abbot - Engineering Catastrophes 00:06
Civil Engineering Professor Tracy Abbot
S06 • E06 {\an8}And on the morning of the collapse, it was both windy and snowing. - Engineering Catastrophes 00:07
{\an8}And on the morning of the collapse, it was both windy ...
S06 • E05 [narrator] In Corpus Christi, Texas, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:20
[narrator] In Corpus Christi, Texas,
S06 • E10 [woman speaking over radio] - Engineering Catastrophes 00:12
[woman speaking over radio]
S06 • E02 So that if something does go wrong, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:12
So that if something does go wrong,
S06 • E07 Looking at the chemical inventory, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:08
Looking at the chemical inventory,
S06 • E06 {\an8}Not a hurricane or a storm type wind, it was windy. - Engineering Catastrophes 00:05
{\an8}Not a hurricane or a storm type wind, it was windy.
S06 • E09 It had concrete columns that were in what was - Engineering Catastrophes 00:10
It had concrete columns that were in what was
S06 • E01 [narrator] In West Texas, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:14
[narrator] In West Texas,
S06 • E07 WALKER: To put this into perspective, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:11
WALKER: To put this into perspective,
S06 • E06 [narrator] But with a crane this size, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:18
[narrator] But with a crane this size,
S06 • E04 If that beam had completely cracked, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:07
If that beam had completely cracked,
S06 • E02 In a dense urban area, it's jut not the way to do this. - Engineering Catastrophes 00:10
In a dense urban area, it's jut not the way to do th...
S06 • E03 [narrator] In the wake of the disaster, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:15
[narrator] In the wake of the disaster,
S06 • E09 NARRATOR: The fact that flash flooding - Engineering Catastrophes 00:10
NARRATOR: The fact that flash flooding
S06 • E05 The pipelines are very well marked. - Engineering Catastrophes 00:11
The pipelines are very well marked.
S06 • E10 [narrator] In 1989, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:26
[narrator] In 1989,
S06 • E01 Everything was just a mess, but you couldn't tell what it was - Engineering Catastrophes 00:07
Everything was just a mess, but you couldn't tell what ...
S06 • E08 Uh, because often once one thing fails, - Engineering Catastrophes 00:08
Uh, because often once one thing fails,
S06 • E02 [Bracken] Debris is going t go everywhere. - Engineering Catastrophes 00:16
[Bracken] Debris is going t go everywhere.