abc abc abc abc abc abc
abc abc


abc abc
abc abc


abc abc abc abc abc abc
abc abc
abc abc


abc abc
abc abc
                So what we see is that when there is no row which matches one-for-one the cells 
                specified in the colgroup, and when a cell that spans more than one column contains
                content that cannot wrap, and crosses the bounds of the cols 'spanned' by its cell,
                the whole thing falls over.
            
verification, incase it doesnt happen on your browser, this was taken from Firebird 0.6: