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Hyatt Regency walkway collapse

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Coordinates: 39°05′06″N 94°34′48″W / 39.085°N 94.580°W / 39.085; -94.580

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1981 structural collapse in Kansas City, Missouri

This article needs more citations . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br>Find sources: "Hyatt Regency walkway collapse" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

{{Cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=Richard D. |last2=Pfrang |first2=E. O. |last3=Leyendecker |first3=E. V. |last4=Woodward |first4=K. A. |last5=Reed |first5=R. P. |last6=Kasen |first6=M. B. |last7=Shives |first7=T. R. |display-authors=1 |title=Investigation of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Walkways Collapse |journal=NIST |series=Building Science Series |volume=143 |publisher=National Bureau of Standards, U.S. Dept. of Commerce|date=May 31, 1982 |url=https://www.nist.gov/publications/investigation-kansas-city-hyatt-regency-walkways-collapse-nbs-bss-143?pub_id=908286 |access-date=July 14, 2021 |archive-date=July 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717073810/https://www.nist.gov/publications/investigation-kansas-city-hyatt-regency-walkways-collapse-nbs-bss-143?pub_id=908286 |url-status=live }}{{rp|iii}}"},"outcome":{"wt":""},"deaths":{"wt":"114"},"injuries":{"wt":"216"},"missing":{"wt":""},"property_damage":{"wt":""},"burial":{"wt":""},"coroner":{"wt":""},"charges":{"wt":""},"verdict":{"wt":""},"convictions":{"wt":""},"litigation":{"wt":""},"awards":{"wt":""},"website":{"wt":""},"notes":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}'>Hyatt Regency walkway collapseOriginal location of second- and fourth-storey walkways; the intact third-storey walkway can be seen to the left.

DateJuly 17, 1981; 45 years ago (1981-07-17)Time19:05 CDT (UTC−5)Location<br>Hyatt Regency Kansas City

2345 McGee Street

Kansas City, Missouri 64108

39°05′06″N 94°34′48″W / 39.085°N 94.580°W / 39.085; -94.580[[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]: {{#parsoid\u0000fragment:10}}[https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse&params=39.085_N_94.580_W_region:US-MO_type:event 39°05′06″N 94°34′48″W&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;39.085°N 94.580°W&#xfeff; / 39.085; -94.580][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"}}'/>

CauseStructural overload resulting from design flaws[1]: iii Deaths114Injuries216

On July 17, 1981, two overhead walkways in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, collapsed, killing 114 people and injuring 216. Loaded with partygoers, the concrete and glass platforms crashed onto a tea dance in the lobby. The collapse resulted in billions of dollars of insurance claims, legal investigations, and city government reforms.

The hotel had been built just a few years before, during a nationwide pattern of fast-tracked large construction with reduced oversight and major failures. Its roof had partially collapsed during construction, and the ill-conceived skywalk design progressively degraded due to a miscommunication loop of corporate neglect and irresponsibility. An investigation concluded that it would have failed under one-third of the weight it held that night. Convicted of gross negligence, misconduct and unprofessional conduct, the engineering company lost its national affiliation and all engineering licenses in four states, but was acquitted of criminal charges. Company owner and engineer of record Jack D. Gillum eventually claimed full responsibility for the collapse and its unchecked design flaws, and he became an engineering disaster lecturer.

The disaster contributed many lessons and reforms to engineering ethics and safety, and to emergency management. It was the deadliest non-deliberate structural failure since the collapse of Pemberton Mill over 120 years earlier, and remained the second deadliest structural collapse[2]: 4  in the United States until the collapse of the World Trade Center towers 20 years later.

Background<br>[edit]

The Kansas City Star described the national climate of the late 1970s as "high unemployment, inflation and double-digit interest rates [that added] pressure on builders to win contracts and complete projects swiftly".[3] Described by the newspaper as fast-tracked, construction began in May 1978 on the 40-storey Hyatt Regency Kansas City. There were numerous delays and setbacks, including the collapse of 2,700 square feet (250 m2) of the roof. The newspaper observed that "Notable structures around the country were failing at an alarming rate", which included the 1979 Kemper Arena roof collapse[3] and the 1978 Hartford Civic Center roof collapse. The hotel officially opened on July 1,...