Hyatt Regency Hotel

On July 17, 1981, the newly built Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, was the site of a great tragedy. Two out of the three one hundred and forty five foot long suspended walkways collapsed during a dance party, killing 114 people and injuring another 250. The beams supporting the fourth-floor walkway snapped at its connection point to the floor, sending it collapsing into the second-floor walkway directly under it then crashing onto the party below. Rodger McCarthy, a third-party investigator determined the collapse was not caused by resonance frequency vibrations. He limited the cause to three possibilities. The first possibility being overload on the walkway, the second being substandard construction, and the final being poor engineering. By using the hotel videotapes of the party, McCarthy determined the number of people on the walkways did not make the total weight of the walkway exceed the weight requirements listed in the building blueprints. This means the likely cause of the collapse was due to the construction company or the engineering firm.

The hanger rods that supported the fourth floor walkway were still in place after the collapse. This led investigators to look at the connection point that the hanger rods connect to. After examining the wreckage, investigators discovered the connection points, the box beams, were severely damaged. These beams had failed to secure the hanger rods to the walkway. The reason for this was the second floor walkway, located directly under the fourth floor walkway, was connected to the fourth floor box beams. This error could have been corrected by having the rods holding the second floor walkway connect to the ceiling. By doing this, the stress would have been put on the sturdy ceiling and the not the fourth floor walkway box beams.

The G.C.E. International engineering firm was responsible for the designing the hotel. Before finishing the design, they passed it onto another firm in order to take on another project. Engineer Daniel Duncan received the unfinished design and hastily completed them in order to get the plans to hotel already under construction. Duncan didn’t specify how the box beams were to be made; he just said that both walkways were to be supported on one hanger rod. The Havens Steel Company was responsible for deciding on and creating the final connector points for the walkways. They switched the plan from having the both walkways connect to the ceiling hanger rod to having the second floor walkway connect to the fourth floor walkway’s box beams. This was the reason the hanger rods pulled right through the box beams, sending 114 people to their deaths.

Jack Gillum, the G.C.E. International engineer denied responsibility saying it is normal for connection points to left open for the fabricators. Daniel Duncan also denied responsibility. The courts couldn’t convict Gillum or Duncan for criminal negligence, but their engineering licenses were revoked. Due to a simple and overlooked detail in the planning process, over one hundred people lost their lives. The Hyatt-Regency Hotel disaster shows that engineers should take the time to review every detail of the plans and designs they sign off on. Even if it seems unimportant, ever detail can potentially affect the lives of people.
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