All of a sudden, the balcony begins to collapse. One man is killed and five others are injured when they plunge several metres to the ground from a seemingly safe-looking balcony. This incident took place in August in the German city of Hamburg, but echoes similar accidents earlier this year in Texas, Turkey, Mallorca and Naples. Everywhere local media print headlines about incidents like these, people often find themselves thinking: Should I be checking if my balcony is safe to stand on? And what even are the signs of an impending collapse? First, the reassuring news is that accidents like th…