Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure, often with the goal of determining corrective actions or liability.

The failure analysis of structures relies on collecting failed components for subsequent examination of the cause or causes of failure using a wide array of methods, especially . Nondestructive testing (NDT) is carried out on the structural elements in-situ and on samples in laboratory.

Finite element analysis is carried out to predict the reasons behind failure.