THE HYATT REGENCY

HOTEL SKYWALK
COLLAPSE
BY:
NITIN TEWATIA-U101113FCS109
VINEET PATAWARI-U101113FCS165

INTRODUCTION
1. On July 17, 1981, the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City,
Missouri, held a tea-dance party in their atrium lobby with many
people partying and dancing .
2. The connections supporting the ceiling rods that held up the
second and fourth-floor walkways across the atrium failed, and
both walkways collapsed onto the crowd .
3. The fourth-floor walkway collapsed onto the second-floor
walkway, while the offset third-floor walkway remained intact.
4. In terms of loss of life and injuries, the Kansas City Hyatt
Regency walkways collapse left 114 dead and 200 injured and
millions of dollars in costs resulted from the collapse.
5. Thousands of lives were adversely affected due to collapse
leaving people in shock and fear .

THE TEAM OWNER/DESIGN &

CONSTRUCTION TEAM
Owner
Crown Center Redevelopment Corp.
Design Team
G.C.E. International Inc.
PBNDML
Structural Engineers
Havens Structural Steel
Eldrige Construction Corp.

FACTS OF CASE

During January and February, 1979, the design of the hanger rod
connections was changed in a series of events and disputed
communications between the fabricator and the engineering design
team.
The fabricator changed the design from a one-rod to a two-rod
system to simplify the assembly task, doubling the load on the
connector that resulted in the walkways collapse.
The fabricator before the administrative judicial hearings after the
accident, claimed that the company telephoned the engineering
firm for change approval while the firm even denied such phone
call.
On October 14, 1979 more than 2700 square feet of the atrium roof
collapsed because one of the roof connections at the north end of
the atrium failed.
In testimony, G.C.E. stated that they requested on-site project
representation during the construction phase, the owners of hotel
due to additional cost denied inspection.
Even as originally designed, the walkways were barely capable of

LESSONS LEARNED
Procedures must be implemented that assure that all
connections are designed by a competent professional
Peer reviews and design checks should include a review of
shop drawings
EOR should be retained to provide full inspection during
construction of structure
Owner needs on site qualified representation

CONCLUSION
From the Kanas City example, the importance of an engineers
responsibility can be seen in aspects ranging from design to construction.
The collapse of the atrium roof during construction was indicative of
problem with the overall design.
Engineers should thoroughly review all designs and modification made
during the construction phase to insure the safety of the project.
Engineers have a tremendous responsibility to insure the safety, health,
and welfare of the public. The public well-being can be maintained only if
engineers follow all codes and standards and uphold their professional
obligation.
Safety during the construction phase of projects will help to insure the
ultimate safety of the complete structure.
The kanas City Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse is an incident where
construction safety was compromised, leading to the eventual collapse of
the walkway.

FAILURE OF TETAN
DAM
BY:HIRESHA KEWALRAMANI