Legacy of the Kansas City Hyatt Tragedy: A 20-year Retrospective Insight and Review

On July 17, 1981, a tragic structural collapse occurred at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The failure of a critical connection in a suspended walkway caused 114 deaths and nearly 200 serious injuries. Much has been written about this event, with various conclusions and implied lessons. Yet, few sources provide the information contained in the four papers included in this session. As the story unfolds in these four papers, some important questions come to mind: Have the proper lessons truly been learned? Have the design and construction communities really adopted changes that will prevent the recurrence of a similar tragedy? The introductory paper by Piotr Moncarz and Robert Taylor is presented from the viewpoint of forensic engineers who were involved in the investigation and analytical work. They describe the design concept for the walkways and review the technical cause of the failure.