November 16, 1996: The Buffalo Jumbotron Accident

On this day in engineering history, a Sony Jumbotron collapsed at Buffalo's HSBC Arena. The eight-sided, $4-million scoreboard fell onto the ice hours just hours before a National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. The accident happened minutes after the Sabres finished practice, when technicians moved the Jumbotron remotely. No one was injured, but the hockey game was postponed.

The Sony Jumbotron is one of the largest vacuum fluorescent displays (VFD) ever built. The largest model ever used was 33 feet tall and 110 feet wide – and cost $17 million. Because of the Jumbotron's size, its resolution is relatively low. Each display element consists of three or six cathode ray tubes (CRT), each of which represents a pixel. Computer-driven message centers can program announcements or advertisements, and show game-related graphics.