national
Februairtl
Kansas City hotel tragedy
caused by faulty design
United Press International
GAITHERSBURG, Md. —
Two 32-ton skywalks that col
lapsed at the Kansas City Hyatt
Regency Hotel last July, killing
113 people, barely were built to
support their own weight, gov
ernment researchers said today.
The National Bureau of
Standards said its lengthy inves
tigation of the Hyatt Regency
tragedy found that the design of
the walkways provided for a
load tolerance less than that re
quired by city building codes.
A change during construc
tion compounded the problem
— doubling the load on the rods
suspending the walkways. This
left the connection able to sup
port just 27 percent of the load
standard set by the city, the 349-
page NBS report said.
“The resultant connection
had barely enough capacity to
resist the walkway dead load (the
weight of the walkway itself) and
very little additional capacity to
resist the loads imposed by peo-
E le,” said Edward Pfrang, who
eaded the NBS probe.
The NBS investigation did
not assess responsibility for the
insufficient load capacity that it
determined led to structural fai
lure as patrons swayed to the
strains of “Satin Doll" during a
dance in the hotel lobby last July
17.
The report said “neither the
quality of workmanship nor the
materials used in the walkway
system played a significant role
in initiating the collapse.”
In looking for a probable
cause, NBS researchers simu
lated collapses with skywalk
mock-ups and subjected
thousands of pounds of steel
and concrete debris from the
actual walkways to hundreds of
tests.
Pfrang said it was the NBS’
most extensive investigation
ever of a building failure.
The original design called for
the two walkways to be sus
pended from the hotel’s roof by
a common set of connection
rods.
However, the NBS report
said a change in construction
had the fourth-floor walkway
suspended by one set of rods,
and the second-floor walkw-ay
suspended from the one above it
by a second set of rods.
“The change in hanger rod
arrangement from a continuous
rod to interrupted rods essen
tially doubled the load to be
transferred by the fourth-floor
box-beam hanger rod connec
tions,” the report said.
Pfrang said, “The connec
tions as initially detailed and
approved for construction pro
vided a capacity far below the
capacity that would have been
required to satisfy the Kansas
City Building Code.”
The failure to build the sky-
walks as designed further aggra
vated “an already critical situa
tion,” he said.
Tons of concrete and steel
came crashing down in the hotel
lobby when the connection rods
running to the roof pulled
through the fourth-floor walk
way under the excess strain, the
NBS report said.
The NBS investigation was
requested by Kansas City Mayor
Richard Berkley, and at last
accounting had cost taxpayers
$400,000.
Difficulties in obtaining sam
ples of the stored debris caused
Pilot from Dallas
commits suicide
in Cfiban prison
Girl Scout Cookies for sale
staff photo by John Ryan
Gayle Collins, a senior Applied Math
major from Odessa sells Girl Scout
Cookies to Heston Thomas, a junior fi
nance major from Houston. The
cookies, sold by the Aggie Scouts will be
available until March 3.
Psychiatric attendant jailed
in patient ‘hostage’ incident
United Press International
DAYTON, Ohio — A female
mental hospital staff member,
allegedly held hostage at gun
point by a male patient, was in
jail Thursday on charges of sex
ual battery and gun smuggling.
For nine hours Wednesday,
authorities thought Karen
Webb, 26, a psychiatric atten
dant, was being held hostage by
mental patient Donald Bartley,
21, of West Carrollton.
But when Bartley, armed
with a .25-caliber pistol, surren
dered to police negotiators, au
thorities began questioning the
two and came to a different con
clusion.
Mendenhall, the facility’s su
perintendent, said it appeared
that Webb was involved in bring
ing the weapon to Bartley.
Webb’s husband, also a
psychiatric attendant at the hos
pital, was “quite upset,” Men
denhall said.
He said escape or a suicide
pact may have been the reason
for the incident.
While Webb was jailed, Bart
ley remained under heavy
security at the hospital. He has
been a patient since November,
1980, when he was charged with
voluntary manslaughter in the
shooting death of Frank Abbey
of Miamisburg.
Bartley, previously ruled in
competent to stand trial, recent
ly was judged fit for trial, which
is scheduled March 8.
Mendenhall said Bartley has
attempted suicide four times at
the hospital and again
threatened suicide during
Wednesday’s ordeal.
United Press International
MIAMI — A 36-year-old Dal
las pilot imprisoned in Havana’s
Combinado del Este prison died
last week, apparently electrocut
ing himself, the State Depart
ment revealed Wednesday.
Daerl Gandy, serving a three-
year sentence for illegal entry
into Cuban territory and one of
13 Americans in the prison, re-
K ortedly electrocuted himself in
is cell, said Joyce Nichols, the
mother of another American
prisoner who accompanied
Gandy’s wife to Havana the day
he died.
Gandy’s wife left Havana
Sunday, not knowing about her
husband’s death. The State De
partment notified her Monday.
The Miami Herald reported
Thursday that the State Depart
ment confirmed the death
Wednesday but would not say
whether the death was a suicide.
Gandy’s body will be flown to the
United States for burial.
Nichols said that Mrs. Gandy,
who lives in Dallas, “said she was
informed the method of death
was self-inflicted electrical
shock.” Nichols’ son Neal was
jailed with Gandy. He is serving
a six-year sentence for illegal en
try and marijuana charges.
“She told me her husband
killed himself over despondancy
and depression of having been
in jail so long,” said Nichols, who
lives in El Paso.
Gandy was jailed March 7,
1981 after the Aztec plane he
was flying to Mexico from New
Orleans ran out of fuel and
landed in Cuba. Neal Nichols
was co-piloting the plane.
“They ran out of fuel and
they thought they were in Mex
ico, but they were in Cuba,”
Nichols said.
M F S (XM JO
SAT ¥ 00 5 00
months of delay in|
which test center 1
Richard Wright has a
only a determinationd!
nical cause of thed
will not attempt toai
was to blame.
The skywalk collajsl
r ed during a
evening tea danceetd
the Big Band soui®||
orchestra. A "
walk loaded with |
portedly swaying loJ
cracked and fellatopij
second-floor skywall
below. Both fell tottj
At least 2121
jured, and the accident!
billions of dollars ink
forced engineers andi|
across the nation tori
safety of similar desijj
Even though thestos
no judgments about »i
led to the failure, 1
plaintiffs and mofetin
defendants expect tonj
ofthereporr inarm
liability for thecollaps
thors of the remit
todepositi'-r^obeu
during s '/alk cases.
; ****** * * «
ajuin
(fftadi
■*«
LIQUIDATION
SALE
60% OFF
AI L N.Y. STOCK
SALE CONTINUES
THRU FEB. 27
STILL LARGE SELECTION OF CHAINS
CHARMS. BRACELETS & RINGS
ALL BEADS &ADD-A BEAD
CHAINS AT SPECIAL PRICES
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| Non-credit Physical Condi- |
| tioning class open to all Texas |
| A&M students. Class to be held 1
| Monday through Friday beginning |
| February 24th. Class will start |
| promptly at 5:15 p.m. at Kyle |
| Field. You will be required to sup- |
j ply your own equipment. All inter- j
j ested students contact Dave Wil- j
| Hams at 845-3193 for more de- |
I tails.
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SMU
IN
OXFORD
July 4 — August 7
Southern Methodist University is pleased
to announce its fifth summer study program
in Oxford.
Live and study with a distinguished SMU
and British faculty at University College,
Oxford.
For information, mail the coupon below.
Return to:
International Programs Office
Southern Methodist University
317 Dallas Hall
Dallas, Texas 75275
(Phone: 692-2338)
Please send me information on the SMU-in-
Oxford progam.
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