Simple Mathematical Mistakes Have Caused Some Massive Calamities

A lot of people believe that the world runs on math. This is kind of true, and mathematical mistakes, even the tiniest ones can have disastrous results. There are several examples in human history where simple math errors led to humongous crises. Following is a list of some of the biggest losses caused by mathematical mistakes. 

The Laufenburg Bridge Problem

A while back, Germany and Switzerland agreed to build a bridge over the Rhine between their cities. Both the cities (on either side of the bridge) are called Laufenburg. Each country was supposed to start building the bridge from its respective ends and meet in the middle. The bridge was nearing completion in 2003 when both nations realized that one half of the bridge was 54 centimeters (21 inches) higher than the other. The reason for the error turned out to be sea level.

Most countries have different methods of determining the sea level. Germany uses the North Sea to define its sea level, while Switzerland prefers the Mediterranean Sea. There was a difference of 27 centimeters between the countries’ respective sea levels. Germany and Switzerland knew this and had factored it into their calculations. However, the calculations were done in such a way that the value was actually doubled. It created a height difference of 54 centimeters in both ends of the bridge. Consequently, the German side of the bridge was lowered before completing the bridge.

Ariane 5 Rocket Explosion

Ariane 5 is a class of heavy-lift rockets that is a result of development by 20 European countries. Ever since its creation, it has been upgraded and refined to meet the new standards. That’s the reason why it is still being used by space agencies.

Unfortunately, a catastrophic computer failure caused Ariane 5 to blow up in midair, on its maiden flight. The internal computers onboard Ariane 5 were the same as those on its predecessor. However, Ariane 5 could reach speeds much greater than that of Ariane 4. In just 37 seconds, Ariane 5 crossed the speed threshold that the older computers were able to handle. This set up a chain reaction of mathematical mistakes that turned the rocket upside down in midair. As a result, the Ariane 5 rocket exploded and destroyed the rocket and its payload along with it.

Air Canada Flight 143

In July 1983, an Air Canada Boeing 767 flying from Ottawa to Edmonton (with 69 passengers and crew members) had to crash-land after running out of fuel at 12,500 meters. The aircraft glided for 100 kilometers after losing engine power and crash-landed in Gimli, Manitoba. Two people suffered minor injuries and fortunately, no deaths were reported.

Investigation reports showed that the reason for the sudden loss in engine power was insufficient fuel. Air Canada used the imperial system, but the Boeing 767 used the metric system. One kilogram equals 2.2 pounds, and this left the aircraft with half the required fuel. Interestingly, the ground crews made the mistake twice. The first was in Montreal, and the second was in Ottawa. The airplane made the Montreal-to-Ottawa flight without incident. However, the passengers flying from Ottawa to Edmonton were not that lucky.

Gulf War Scud Missile Attack

On 25^th February 1991, an Iraqi Scud missile hit a US army base in Dharan, Saudi Arabia. The attack killed 28 soldiers and left over a hundred injured. This missile attack was surprising because the base had an active Patriot Defense System, which was supposed to destroy the missile before it reached the target. The authorities found that the software powering the clock of the system was erroneous.

The clock recorded time in deci-seconds (one-tenth of a second) but stored that data as an integer. Repeated rounding-off during conversion increased the inaccuracy to a point that the defense system was incapable of intercepting missiles after 20 hours of continued use. At the time of the attack, the Patriot missile battery in question had been operating for 100 hours. Due to this time disparity, the system looked in the wrong part of the sky for the incoming missile. Therefore it failed to locate an obvious target.

Spain’s S-80 Submarine Program

In 2003, Spain’s 2.7 billion USD submarine project suffered a massive setback. One of the submarines was almost ready when they discovered that someone had put a decimal in the wrong place. This made the submarine 70 tons heavier than its ideal weight. At that weight, it would be impossible for the submarine to resurface. At the time of this discovery, 3 other submarines were also in the process of construction. Spain later signed a $14 million deal with Electric Boat of Groton (Connecticut) to help them reduce the weight of the 2,200-ton submarine.