Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

$358 Million
If you’ve ever been involved in a wreck with your car, you know how difficult it can be to recover both physically and financially. However, this vehicular crash puts the fender bender you’re probably thinking of to shame. In August 2004, a large tanker truck carrying more than 8,000 gallons of fuel collided with a car. While this would be a terrible scenario no matter where it took place, this particular accident took place on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany. The truck fell into the valley below and exploded, destroying the bridge in the process, resulting in $358 million of damage and countless disrupted drives on the Autobahn 4.

$1 Billion
As far as historic landmarks go, Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most iconic in the world. Dating back centuries, the cathedral has withstood the test of time, but it was nearly destroyed in a matter of hours. In April 2019, when the cathedral was already undergoing a massive renovation, a fire broke out in its attic. Notre-Dame’s structure was already delicate due to age, so firefighting teams took extra care in putting out the fire, which took 15 hours. By the time it was extinguished, the fire had completely destroyed the cathedral’s spire and caused major damage to the upper walls and roof, which will cost about $1 billion to repair.

$1.4 Billion
It is common knowledge that the United States spends more money on its military than any other country in the world, so it’s no surprise that the loss of a single piece of equipment is so costly. In February 2008, the “Spirit of Kansas,” a B-2 Stealth bomber, took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Only a few moments after liftoff, the aircraft crashed and was destroyed, but thankfully the two crew members onboard survived. While the only major cost was that of the aircraft, the loss of the bomber was estimated to be $1.4 billion, making this the priciest aircraft crash of all time.

$2.8 Billion
The world’s dependence on crude oil is problematic for a number of reasons, but disasters like this one really highlight the damaging effects oil itself can have. In March 1989, an oil supertanker named “Exxon Valdez” crashed into Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef off the coast of Alaska. Over the following days, 10.8 million gallons of crude oil flooded the sound, impacting more than a thousand miles of coastline. While the monetary cost of the disaster was approximately $2.8 billion, the environmental cost was even greater, with nearly half of the area’s sea otters succumbing to the effects of the oil spill. Unfortunately, as we will discuss later, this isn’t even the largest or most expensive oil spill in history, nor is the next item on this list.

$3.4 Billion
Less than a year before the “Exxon Valdez” oil spill, another massive oil-related disaster took place an entire ocean away. In July 1988, the massive oil platform “Piper Alpha” exploded and sank in the North Sea, ending the lives of 167 people in the process. To this day, the accident remains the largest offshore oil disaster in history when it comes to human casualties and industry impact. Before the “Piper Alpha” was destroyed, it accounted for one tenth of the oil and gas produced in the North Sea, and its loss caused shockwaves across the industry. While the disaster carried a $3.4 billion price tag, it is still not the costliest oil-related accident in history.

$5.5 Billion
As the first fatal in-flight incident of an American spacecraft, the 1986 “Challenger” disaster made history in many ways. Because the space shuttle carried high school social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe, slated to be the first teacher in space, the explosion was seen live in schools across the country. Investigations into the explosion determined that rubber O-ring seals on the shuttle warped due to the unusually cold January morning, which ultimately led to the fatal disaster. Sadly, if warnings from ground personnel had been heeded, the explosion could have been prevented. Because they were not, $5.5 billion and seven treasured lives were lost that day.

$12 Billion
As you have likely gathered from this list, oil spills are among the most devastating types of disasters throughout history, and this was one of the worst. In November 2002, a storm 120 miles off the Spanish coast caused the massive oil tanker “Prestige” to leak oil into the Atlantic Ocean. The captain asked Spanish authorities to let him enter a harbor under their jurisdiction, but they refused. French authorities also denied the ship harbor shortly after. As the ship neared Portugal's coast, the Portuguese navy towed the tanker offshore, causing it to break in half and pour 20 million gallons into the ocean. While this disaster cost $12 billion monetarily, it also caused massive damage to the priceless ocean.

$13 Billion
As if one space shuttle explosion wasn’t bad enough, 26 years after the “Challenger” disaster, “Columbia” experienced a similar fate. When the “Columbia” space shuttle re-entered the atmosphere after a sixteen-day mission focused on microgravity research, it disintegrated, ending the lives of all seven crew members. The “Columbia” Accident Investigation Board discovered that when the shuttle was taking off, a piece of insulation foam struck the left wing, compromising the thermal protection system. The loss of the shuttle, subsequent investigation and other costs totaled $13 billion, making it the most expensive spacecraft disaster of all time.

$65 Billion
As you no doubt have gathered by now, oil spills account for nearly half of the costliest accidents in history, and this one is the most expensive of them all. In April 2010, the offshore drilling rig “Deepwater Horizon” was destroyed and sank due to a massive explosion. The resulting oil spill poured 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico until the well was officially sealed in September 2010. The loss of the rig and the cleanup of the subsequent oil spill cost $65 billion. Outside of monetary costs, eleven workers perished due to the explosion and fire. The environmental impact of the oil spill can still be felt today, much like the impact of the final entry on this list.

$200 Billion
During a safety test at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in April 1986, Reactor 4 experienced steam explosions, which caused a meltdown of the reactor core. The reactor building was destroyed, and radioactive contaminants filled the air, impacting the atmosphere across Europe. While the number of victims who perished directly due to the disaster remains up for debate, at least 31 people were lost due to radiation sickness and trauma. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the 1,000-square-mile Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, which remains largely uninhabited to this day. Considering the lasting effects, it’s no wonder this is the most expensive accident of all time.