diff --git a/interfaces/Crafter.Graphics-RenderingElement3D.cppm b/interfaces/Crafter.Graphics-RenderingElement3D.cppm
index dee9ebf..576736a 100644
--- a/interfaces/Crafter.Graphics-RenderingElement3D.cppm
+++ b/interfaces/Crafter.Graphics-RenderingElement3D.cppm
@@ -115,7 +115,14 @@ export namespace Crafter {
         inline static std::uint64_t hostDataVersionCounter = 0;
 
         static std::vector<RenderingElement3D*> elements;
-        inline static TlasWithBuffer tlases[Window::numFrames];
+        // Never destroyed, like Device::device. As a plain static its
+        // destructor would run at process exit after the Vulkan driver and
+        // layers, which are loaded during Device::Initialize (after this was
+        // constructed), have torn down their own state, and destroying the
+        // buffers would call into that freed state: the validation layer
+        // segfaults on it. Exit reclaims them instead.
+        inline static std::array<TlasWithBuffer, Window::numFrames>& tlases =
+            *new std::array<TlasWithBuffer, Window::numFrames>();
         // Build (or in-place refit) the TLAS for frame `index`. `preference`
         // maps onto the FAST_TRACE/FAST_BUILD bits exactly as Mesh::Build
         // does for a BLAS: FastTrace (the default) spends more build time for
diff --git a/tests/TLASHighWaterMark/main.cpp b/tests/TLASHighWaterMark/main.cpp
index 99174f4..746a66e 100644
--- a/tests/TLASHighWaterMark/main.cpp
+++ b/tests/TLASHighWaterMark/main.cpp
@@ -351,22 +351,6 @@ int main() {
     Check(Device::validationErrorCount == 0,
           std::format("no Vulkan validation errors ({} seen)", Device::validationErrorCount));
 
-    // Tear down the frame-0 TLAS while the Vulkan device is still alive. The
-    // static tlases[] array is destroyed at process exit, by which point the
-    // device (also static) may already be gone — so its VulkanBuffer
-    // destructors would fault. Releasing here keeps the exit path clean.
-    {
-        auto& t0 = RenderingElement3D::tlases[0];
-        if (t0.accelerationStructure != VK_NULL_HANDLE) {
-            Device::vkDestroyAccelerationStructureKHR(Device::device, t0.accelerationStructure, nullptr);
-            t0.accelerationStructure = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
-        }
-        if (t0.instanceBuffer.buffer != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.instanceBuffer.Clear();
-        if (t0.metadataBuffer.buffer != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.metadataBuffer.Clear();
-        if (t0.scratchBuffer.buffer  != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.scratchBuffer.Clear();
-        if (t0.buffer.buffer         != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.buffer.Clear();
-    }
-
     if (failures != 0) {
         std::println("{} check(s) failed", failures);
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
diff --git a/tests/TLASInstanceDirtyTracking/main.cpp b/tests/TLASInstanceDirtyTracking/main.cpp
index 4ba711a..b2526fc 100644
--- a/tests/TLASInstanceDirtyTracking/main.cpp
+++ b/tests/TLASInstanceDirtyTracking/main.cpp
@@ -213,20 +213,6 @@ int main() {
     Check(Device::validationErrorCount == 0,
           std::format("no Vulkan validation errors ({} seen)", Device::validationErrorCount));
 
-    // Tear down the frame-0 TLAS while the device is still alive (same rationale
-    // as TLASHighWaterMark — the static tlases[] outlive the static device).
-    {
-        auto& t0 = RenderingElement3D::tlases[0];
-        if (t0.accelerationStructure != VK_NULL_HANDLE) {
-            Device::vkDestroyAccelerationStructureKHR(Device::device, t0.accelerationStructure, nullptr);
-            t0.accelerationStructure = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
-        }
-        if (t0.instanceBuffer.buffer != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.instanceBuffer.Clear();
-        if (t0.metadataBuffer.buffer != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.metadataBuffer.Clear();
-        if (t0.scratchBuffer.buffer  != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.scratchBuffer.Clear();
-        if (t0.buffer.buffer         != VK_NULL_HANDLE) t0.buffer.Clear();
-    }
-
     if (failures != 0) {
         std::println("{} check(s) failed", failures);
         return EXIT_FAILURE;