Construction Fails

Construction fails happen every day, but sometimes the damage is catastrophic. Investigate the most spectacular mishaps - and how the disaster could have been averted.

How Notre Dame cathedral caught fire despite state-of-the-art smoke detection equipment. Plus, is there such a thing as an earthquake-proof building?

Glass is one of the most versatile materials in the construction world. It's both practical and beautiful, but when it fails, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Urban construction relies on two types of cranes to hoist the next high-rise - but when they fail, they make one big mess. Plus, discover the bad side of escalators.

Tunnels are engineering marvels, cutting through the landscape and creating direct routes - until they cave in. Plus, a sudden bridge collapse in Miami.

Asbestos was a product that seemed too good to be true - because it was. Meanwhile, in New York, two buildings explode sending debris flying through the streets.