25+ of the Most Expensive Mistakes in History

Year: 2013
Location: Spain
Company: Navantia
Estimated Damage Value: $2.2 billion*

You don’t have to be a certified genius to know that a submarine has to do one thing above all else: float. Despite paying over $2.2 billion to create a new, state-of-the-art Isaac Peral Submarine back in 2013, the Spanish government didn’t even end up using it because of this very expensive mistake. 

Naval submarine ©noraismail/Shutterstock.com

It turned out the submarine was so incredibly heavy that it couldn’t float properly. Engineers got to work and figured out there was a miscalculation somewhere along the line. Thankfully, the design didn’t make it to the manufacturing stage, but it still cost the government a crazy amount of money. The hiccup garnered so much attention it was featured on numerous news outlets, including Fox.

The problems didn’t end there, either. When engineers rectified the issue they made the entire thing bigger. There was only one issue. No one thought to look at the port. Once the submarine was enlarged, it no longer fit inside, resulting in even more red faces on Monday morning.

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. 

Paris: Two TGV in the Parisian East station @Taxiarchos228 / CC BY/Wikimedia Commons

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.  

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. 

South Dakota Neighborhood Built on an Abandoned Mine @Ternarian / Imgur.com

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.

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. 

The Sinking of the Titanic @Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

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. 

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.

Digger on the Beach @u/fjmgtw / Reddit.com

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.

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.

British Airways Flight 5390 @Wikimedia Commons

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.

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. 

The Noaa-N Prime Satellite Drop @u/abledanger / Reddit.com

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.

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 Car-Melting Skyscraper @Alexandra Cortes Pace / Shutterstock.com

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.” 

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. 

Kurt Russell Destroys a Rare, Priceless 1870s Guitar @Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com | @Randel Ball / Pinterest.com

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.”

Year: 2014
Location: In-flight from Chicago to Orange County
Company: United Airlines
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. 

Emergency Slide Inside a Plane @txnlas14 / Imgur.com

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.

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. 

Priceless Elias Martinez Painting Ruined Forever @u/mungoflago / Reddit.com

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.”

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. 

Premature Fire Foam Release @AirlineFlyer / Twitter.com

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. 

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. 

Fall of the Lotus Riverside Apartment Complex @u/Reavessa / Reddit.com

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.

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. 

Capsized Nourah of Riyad Yacht @u/nemmdude / Reddit.com

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.