80 years ago, August 1st 1943, Saint Louis Missouri: A CG-4 glider is demonstrated at an airshow. Its right wing *falls off* immediately after release, killing on impact: two air force crewmen, the *mayor of the city*, the *co-founder of the manufacturer of the failed glider* (who also funded Charles Lindbergh's plane), and six other VIPs. In front of thousands of spectators.

The cause? A company that normally built coffins made the wing strut, and they used too thin of metal.

The result? Several inspectors were relieved of duty.

The company that built the glider survived and was eventually bought out, and now lives on... as American Airlines.

And that was just one incident. It really puts the ongoing media circus around one Boeing failure with no major injuries in perspective.