In 1996, a tiny wasp nest caused a major jet to crash in the Caribbean
A routine flight in 1996 ended in tragedy when the smallest of intruders—a colony of mud dauber wasps—blocked a critical sensor, leading to the deadliest crash in the history of the Boeing 757.
Birgenair Flight 301 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from the Dominican Republic on February 6, 1996. Investigators were stunned to find the primary cause was a tiny wasp nest. Mud daubers had built a home inside one of the pitot tubes, which are external sensors used to measure airspeed.
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