The Atomic Chef: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error

i Prologue 1 The Atomic Chef The disturbing story behind one of history’s worst nuclear criticality accidents.2 The Embryo Imbroglio A deviation in procedure at a Manhattan fertility clinic results in a big surprise for two patients.3 Signal Detection How airline security officials in Paris classified — and misclassified — “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.4 Out of Synch The Canadians cry “foul” at the Barcelona Olympics when an American wins the gold, but the problem lies with the user interface of the judge’s keypad.5 Death on Call A US Special Forces team in Afghanistan mistakenly targets a precision-guided bomb on their own position.6 Picture Window Astronauts race to locate the source of a threatening air leak aboard the International Space Station.7 Event Horizon A harmless MRI scan at a New York hospital turns to tragedy for a young patient when good intentions interact with an invisible force.8 Freeway Driver Artist Richard Ankrom takes matters into his own hands to enhance a confusing freeway sign.9 Caught on Tape The nightmare flight of AeroPeru 603 off the coast of South America, and its surprising cause.10 911, More or Less A chain of errors in an emergency dispatch center has tragic consequences for a Los Angeles family.11 ATM It’s Thanksgiving evening, and one unfortunate bank customer in New Jersey contemplates spending the holiday locked inside an automatic teller booth.12 Under the Radar Maintenance errors and low load estimates bring down a commercial airliner.13 Safer than Safe How early batches of Salk polio vaccine actually spread the dreaded disease rather than prevent it.14 Rhymes and Reasons The ergonomics involved in musician John Denver’s final flight.15 A Kid in a Car A toddler in Kansas is strangled by an electric-powered vehicle window of a particular design.16 The Perilous Plunge This amusement park ride is much too perilous for one unfortunate customer.17 Titanic’s Wake Two Chicago dockworkers witness a maritime calamity of unthinkable consequence.18 Driven to Distraction A French motorist discovers yet another form of driver distraction.19 Negative Transfer NASA test pilot Milt Thompson faces certain death unless he can quickly determine why his experimental aircraft is wobbling out of control.20 End Game Greek shipping magnate Pandelis Sfinias contemplates his own fate and the causes of the sinking of the Express Samina ferry. Read more