Most system failures are described as breakdowns—loss of function, depletion, or shutdown. But many systems do not fail this way. They remain active. They continue to regulate, compensate, and respond—yet never return to stability.This paper identifies a recurring failure pattern in such systems: failure of clearance. In systems that require completion through an exit pathway, processes can continue without resolving. The result is a consistent sequence: persistent activity, accumulation of load, and instability. This pattern is demonstrated across multiple domains—including cellular systems, physiology, structural systems, environmental systems, and information networks—without assuming a shared mechanism. Rather than proposing a universal theory, this paper presents a testable structure: Systems that cannot clear the load they generate do not fail by stopping—they fail by continuing without completion.The framework provides: a method to locate failure (what is not completing) an intervention order (restore clearance before modulation) a diagnostic shortcut (identify where load is not being cleared) This approach shifts analysis from identifying what is broken to identifying what is not completing. This work is part of the Lantern of Sulfur (LoS) framework, a systems-level model of electrolyte balance, RAAS signaling, and physiological coordination. IsPartOf → LoS Master Index (concept DOI): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17915492 IsSupplementTo → Mapping Hyperchloremia's Paradoxes (primary): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19646037 IsSupplementTo → The Clinical Stack (application): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19496931 IsSupplementTo → The Flow–Stability Dyad (secondary): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17726022
Beth Ann Martell (Wed,) studied this question.