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Expensive Mistakes That Ending Up Costing These Businesses A Fortune
No matter how much corporations invest in engineering feats of wonder, no matter how many top-notch brains you have working on a project for companies backed by the likes of United Airlines, there’s always a chance that something could go wrong.
From billion-dollar submarines that don’t end up being able to float to one-of-a-kind rare guitars mistakenly destroyed by Hollywood actors, costly mistakes can (and do) happen, costing companies anywhere from thousands to tens of billions of dollars. Some of these projects could have easily been saved by a simple email, while others were doomed from the start.
In other cases, these mistakes are far more personal and can alter the course of someone’s life forever. Take, for example, the man that threw millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin into the local landfill, or the time a former Apple employee sold his 10% share for just a few hundred dollars.
Trains ‘Too Big’ For the Station
Paris: Two TGV in the Parisian East station @Taxiarchos228 / CC BY/Wikimedia Commons Year: 2014
Location: France
Company: RFF gave the wrong dimensions to SNCF
Estimated Damage Value: $68 million*
Companies like American Airlines might be busy ruling the skies, but what about the rails? Railways and the Metro are heavily used in France, so when the train operator SNCF decided to invest in a new transportation project it seemed like a good idea at the time.
However, even the best laid plans can be shoddily executed. 2,000 new trains that cost in excess of $20.5 billion hit the railways back in 2014, but there was a hitch. They were far too wide, or as some outlets like the BBC dubbed them, too “fat,” to safely squeeze past each other on the rails. The mistake cost SNCF almost $70 million.
Apparently the error happened when the RFF, the rail network operator, measured platforms that had been built 30 years ago. They thought it was a “one size fits all” situation, not taking into account the stations and platforms that were much older – and smaller – than that.
Neighborhood Built on an Abandoned Mine
South Dakota Neighborhood Built on an Abandoned Mine @Ternarian / Imgur.com Year: 2020
Location: South Dakota, America
Company: Dakota Plaster Company
Estimated Damage Value: $10-15 million*
When purchasing a home, you may want to double-check with the realtor that it’s not built on a large, cavernous, abandoned mine. A group of South Dakota residents didn’t check when they shelled out a fortune for their gorgeous, newly-built houses back in 2014. Outlets like Viacom’s CBS soon picked up the story and it went viral.
One resident was mowing his lawn when the sinkhole suddenly appeared. Twelve families were later evacuated. Investigators discovered that a huge 600 feet long gypsum mine was situated directly underneath the properties, rendering them completely unsafe – and utterly worthless.
Albert Reitz spoke to the local news station and explained, “I felt suction behind me and a little bit of movement under my feet. I looked behind me and I was only a foot away from it.” Reitz alerted the rest of the neighborhood, giving others time to get to safety.
The Sinking of the Titanic
The Sinking of the Titanic @Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com Year: 1912
Location: North Atlantic Ocean
Company: White Star Line
Estimated Damage Value: $7.5 million/$400 million adjusted for inflation*
In 1912, the Titanic was a true feat of engineering genius. Indeed, at the cost of $7.5 million (or $400 million in today’s money) it was a passenger ship unlike anything the world had seen before. With stunning state rooms and a sweeping staircase it was more like a 5-star hotel that could float.
Sadly, we all know how the maiden voyage turned out. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on the evening of April 15. Despite its cost, the Titanic had many faults, including poorly made rivets and just 16 lifeboats to cater to over 3,300 people. James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film version of the Titanic’s voyage for 20th Century Fox took over $200 million at the box office in 1997.
Interestingly, the ship’s naval engineer Thomas Andrews was in his cabin drawing out improvements for the vessel when the iceberg struck. According to what he told other passengers and crew, he barely noticed a thing. Andrews was one of the 1,500 that perished.
Yellow Digger Stuck at the Shore
Digger on the Beach @u/fjmgtw / Reddit.com Year: 2019
Location: Auckland Beach, New Zealand
Company: Little Shoal Bay Boating Club
Estimated Damage Value: $50,000*
If there’s one thing most of us know, it’s that parking your car in a safe spot is an absolute necessity. You wouldn’t park a brand new Tesla on a beach, but someone thought it would be a wise idea to try their luck with a 4×4 Land Rover.
It’s not clear why this happened or why the individual in question thought it was a perfect place to store such an expensive car. However, the digger sent to extract the 4×4 got stuck as well and sat fully submerged in the sand and mud for more than three days.
The incident occurred on Auckland Beach in New Zealand, much to the bemusement of local residents and news outlets. Thankfully, officials stopped to consider what might happen to other machinery before sending in other equipment to rescue the digger. It was a touch too little, too late.
British Airways Incident
British Airways Incident @davidfarrier / Twitter.com Year: 1990
Location: Airspace over Didcot, Oxfordshire
Company: British Airways
Estimated Damage Value: $2.8 million*
In 1990, one of the most harrowing airplane incidents was not only recorded – but also, incredible, captured on tape in real-time. British Airways Flight 5390 was just beginning its ascent over Oxfordshire when suddenly the pressure inside the cockpit unexpectedly caused the driver’s side window to burst – sucking veteran pilot Tim Lancaster out of the airplane.
Fortunately, Lancaster’s legs caught on the controls – and a quick-acting staff managed to hold onto his body (half inside the cockpit, half exposed to the freezing winds outside) until the plane made an emergency landing. Lancaster suffered several bone fractures and frostbite, but was lucky to escape with his life.
The Noaa-N Prime Satellite Drop
The Noaa-N Prime Satellite Drop @u/abledanger / Reddit.com Year: 2003
Location: Sunnyvale, California
Company: Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Estimated Damage Value: $135 million*
Satellites might look like big, inelegant hunks of metal, but they’re complex pieces of machinery that take a ton of money and expertise to make. So, when one gets knocked over, it’s not a case of simply sticking it back together with Newell’s Krazy Glue.
Back in 2003, workers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale were moving the Noaa-N Prime Satellite to a different position when it fell off of its plate and onto the floor, causing $135 million in damages. Why? Someone forgot to secure it with the required 24 bolts prior to lifting it.
In order to remedy the embarrassing event, Lockheed Martin gracefully said they wouldn’t take any profit from the build to pay for the repair costs. They also covered a further $30 million, while the rest of the costs were shouldered by the United States government, which didn’t go down well.
The Car-Melting Skyscraper
The Car-Melting Skyscraper @Alexandra Cortes Pace / Shutterstock.com Year: 2013
Location: London
Company: Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group
Estimated Damage Value: $1,000 for the car/Unknown for the building*
Skyscrapers are commonplace in big cities across the world, but how many of them have been known to melt cars and other businesses? The “Walkie Talkie” on 20 Fenchurch Street in London hit the headlines on news outlets like Disney’s ABC in 2014 after it melted a Jaguar parked across the street from the sun’s reflection.
The Jaguar cost over $1,000 to fix, but the damages from the building’s glare didn’t stop there. Close-by businesses said windows cracked from the heat, forcing the $250-million-dollar building to spend an undisclosed amount on fitting a giant sunshade to its south-facing side.
When the owner of the car, Mr. Lindsay explained the damage to his car to the BBC he said the wing mirror, panels, and Jaguar badge had all been badly melted, telling them, “You can’t believe something like this would happen.”
Kurt Russell Destroys a Rare, Priceless 1870s Guitar
Kurt Russell Destroys a Rare, Priceless 1870s Guitar @Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com | @Randel Ball / Pinterest.com Year: 2015
Location: On-set of The Hateful Eight
Company: Shiny Penny, FilmColony
Estimated Damage Value: $40,000*
Director Quentin Tarantino is behind some incredible movies, including Sony’s 2019 hit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Back in 2015 he hired Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh to star in The Hateful Eight. In one particular scene, Leigh is playing a vintage guitar when Russell’s character grabs it from her and smashes it to bits.
Little did Russell know that the guitar was a highly valuable museum piece worth $40,000. Production was supposed to switch out the guitar for an inexpensive dummy midway through the scene, but they forgot. The museum was so incensed they’ve since refused to lend any items out.
Leigh was absolutely devastated by the mistake as she had hoped to use some of her paycheck to purchase the instrument after filming had wrapped. Talking to Billboard, the actress explained, “When Kurt found out, his eyes literally welled up. It ended up being great for the scene.”
Emergency Slide Inside a Plane
Emergency Slide Inside a Plane @txnlas14 / Imgur.com Year: 2014
Location: In-flight from Chicago to Orange County
Estimated Damage Value: $20,000*
The last thing passengers on a flight from Chicago to Orange County expected in 2014 was for the emergency slide to inflate inside the cabin. According to news outlets, the United Airlines flight was going along as usual when passengers noticed a hissing sound, only to see that the inflatable was starting to get bigger and bigger.
The pilot was forced to perform an emergency landing in Kansas. The plane itself had to be taken out of service while the slide was replaced, costing the airline somewhere in the region of $20,000. Thankfully, no one was injured.
This isn’t the only time an incident like this has happened on a commercial flight and it probably won’t be the last. Given how expensive the accidental inflation can be, you would’ve thought someone would have remedied it by now. Luckily for passengers, it’s still an unlikely occurrence.
Priceless Elias Martinez Painting Ruined Forever
Priceless Elias Martinez Painting Ruined Forever @u/mungoflago / Reddit.com Year: 2012
Location: Eastern Spain
Company: Restoration done by Cecilia Gimenez
Estimated Damage Value: Priceless
Artwork is sometimes so rare and priceless that it’s hard to truly pinpoint how expensive they are. Back in 2012, the world was shaken when an elderly Spanish dogooder took it upon themselves to restore “Ecce Homo” by Elias Garcia Martinez. When staff happened to check on the painting of Christ in the Santuario de Misericordia, they were horrified to discover what had been done to it.
Although the “restoration” was thought to be done out of kindness, the result is entirely bad. Martinez’s work was changed beyond all recognition, turning Jesus from a religious figure into something resembling a monkey.
Although the identity of the woman responsible was largely shrouded in mystery for some time, it soon came out that “Monkey Christ” was the work of 82-year-old Cecilia Gimenez. In a documentary on the subject she explained, “I thought I knew how to restore it, but the paint ran.”
Piper Alpha Explosion
Piper Alpha Explosion @Smithsonian Channel / YouTube.com Year: 1988
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Company: Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd.
Estimated Damage Value: $1.7 billion*
Working on an oil platform can be a tricky (and expensive) business. When things go wrong, there’s often a very fine line between a near miss and a fatal disaster. In 1988, a platform operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Limited exploded when a PSV flange leaked.
Between 9pm and 11.20pm on 6th July several explosions occurred, eventually resulting in the entire collapse of the platform. The result was a staggering $1.7 billion worth of damage. To this day, the Piper Alpha remains one of the biggest oil rig disasters in the history of the oil business.
While the costs of clean up were incredibly expensive, so were the insurance claims, too. $1.4 billion was claimed because of the disaster, creating quite the headache for the company, Lloyd’s of London. Lloyd’s later reworked their policies as a result of hte substantial payout.
Premature Fire Foam Release
Premature Fire Foam Release @AirlineFlyer / Twitter.com Year: 2013
Location: Various
Company: Delta Air Lines
Estimated Damage Value: $100,000*
Storing airplanes takes much care and finances, so it’s only natural that companies want to protect their planes by installing a fire foam system. That way, if a fire does break out it’s taken care of relatively quickly. Of course, if it accidentally releases when there’s no fire at all, it’s a costly disaster.
Delta Air Lines found that out the hard way back in 2013 when their new hangar and aircrafts got covered for no reason at all. Several military bases have also faced the same issue, racking up hundreds of thousands in unnecessary repair costs.
When pictures of the incident first surfaced on the internet, some thought it was just too insane to be true. However, Delta soon confirmed that the fire system had malfunctioned, resulting in the sea of foam, although they never released further details about what caused it.
NASA Loses a Satellite
Red planet Mars ©Paopano/Shutterstock.com Year: 1999
Location: Outer Space
Company: NASA
Estimated Damage Value: $125 million*
Imagine pouring years into a piece of complex machinery, only for it to finally make it into space, then disintegrate into nothing. NASA was devastated when they invested $125 million on the Mars Climate Orbiter in the 1990s only to see it burn up. The worst part? It was because one team was using the Metric System, while another was using the Imperial System.
The team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory used one type of measuring system while Lockheed Martin’s division used another. Neither party realized until it was too late, spelling disaster for the project when it could have easily been avoided.
Director of George Washington University’s space policy institute put it best when he told the LA Times, “That is so dumb. There seems to have emerged over the past couple of years a systematic problem in the space community of insufficient attention to detail.”
Fall of the Lotus Riverside Apartment Complex
Fall of the Lotus Riverside Apartment Complex @u/Reavessa / Reddit.com Year: 2009
Location: Shanghai
Company: Shanghai Meidu Real Estate Development
Estimated Damage Value: $2,000 per square meter*
In 2009, developers were building the Lotus Riverside Apartment Complex in China when an entire block toppled over on its side. It was eventually put down to the construction of a parking garage underneath the building. While workers were removing dirt, they were putting it on a nearby riverbank.
The weight caused the riverbank to collapse. As water leaked in, the foundations of the building became unstable, leading it to crumble. At the time, space in the structure was being sold for $2,000 per square meter. Not only did developers have to start again, but they also had to clear the damage.
Incredibly, only one worker perished in the terrible accident. Considering the grand scale and just how incredibly large apartment blocks are, the loss of life could’ve been far greater. The 13-story building fell to the ground nearly completely intact, amazing onlookers.
Capsized Nourah of Riyad Yacht
Capsized Nourah of Riyad Yacht @u/nemmdude / Reddit.com Year: 2020
Location: Greece
Company: Megatechnica
Estimated Damage Value: $30 million*
Owning a luxury 70-meter yacht is something most of us can only dream of. If you’re a Saudi prince, it might seem a little more realistic. Even prince’s can’t avoid tragedy, though. Earlier this year the $65 million dollar yacht was being taken out for maintenance in a Greek yard when the entire thing toppled into the ocean.
Thankfully workers were able to retrieve the luxury liner from the deep and began to repair it in March 2020. While it’s unclear just how much it will cost to bring the boat back up to standard, it’s likely to be somewhere around the $30 million mark.
Prince Turki al Saud was likely very unhappy when he heard the news of his vessel, but as he has a net worth of $1 billion, at least he could afford the repairs. His father is also partial to yachting, having owned one called Montkaj.
Highway Landslide
Highway Landslide @Madalena Hebel / Pinterest.com Year: 2010
Location: Taiwan
Company: Maintained by Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau
Estimated Damage Value: $20 million*
Slope management in Taiwan has been a hot topic for quite a while, as landslides often happen and cause all sorts of disasters. In 2010, disaster struck again when Highway 3 was covered by a monumental landslide that completely decimated the highway.
With 50 excavators and 100 trucks pulling away at the mess, it took over a month to get the highway clear. The disaster ultimately cost the government upward of $20 million when all was said and done.
Local news reported that there were over 210,000 cubic meters of debris that covered the highway and the surrounding area after the disaster. Amazingly, only three cars were caught up in the landslide. While tragic, it could’ve been much worse.
The Rena Monrovia Cargo Spill
The Rena Monrovia Cargo Spill @u/ReluctantPirate / Reddit.com Year: 2011
Location: Astrolabe Reef, New Zealand
Company: Daina Shipping, a subsidiary of Costamare
Estimated Damage Value: $108 million*
While some mistakes can be put down to structural damage or other events that can’t be helped, oftentimes disasters can be avoided. Take the case of The Rena Monrovia container ship. The vessel was on a voyage when it struck New Zealand’s Astrolabe Reef and ran aground in 2011.
The cargo spilled into the ocean, while the ship itself was largely totaled as it had been traveling at full speed. It cost the company $240 million to clear up the mess – and it was all because the master and crew didn’t look where they were going. Something tells us they didn’t get to keep their jobs.
The official report put the incident down to “navigation errors.” The ship itself lay unrecovered in its position for quite some time. By 2012 it had broken in two after being battered by constant bad weather, with the stern of the ship sinking a couple of days later.
Deepwater Horizon
Year: 2010
Location: Gulf of Mexico
Company: BP
Estimated Damage Value: $65 billion*
There are fewer disasters more prolific than Deepwater Horizon. On April 20, 2010, the drilling rig exploded, resulting in the biggest oil spill on record. 94 workers were rescued from the rig – but the fire lasted for days.
The tanker itself sank two days later, but still the damage wasn’t done. The oil spill had a huge impact on the environment around the Gulf of Mexico. BP had to pay big money to try and rectify the situation, bringing the total bill to upward of $65 billion dollars.
The entire disaster was so unprecedented that no one knew how to deal with it on a financial or environmental scale. Transocean paid $1.4 billion as a result of violating the US Clean Water Act, while BP faced charges of billions, not only in penalties but in compensation.
