Invisible Nick Kills Five Aboard

In 1989, a helicopter flying near New Jersey crashed after an invisible fatigue crack in a main rotor blade, which began at a tiny tool mark where a sharp blade had trimmed adhesive from the blade spar, finally caused the blade to fail after 922 hours of operation. The resulting imbalance sent it into an uncontrolled descent. All five people on board were killed, and investigators traced the accident to that manufacturing-induced scratch and inadequate quality control.

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