A large portion of a ceiling collapsed inside a Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport restaurant Thursday morning and fell on diners.
The ceiling panel, which an airport official estimated to weigh about 700 pounds and measure roughly 20 feet long, fell on a bar area at Cat Cora’s Kitchen. The restaurant is located in Concourse A.
Two diners were injured when the ceiling came down about 8 a.m., according to Tom Nissalke, Hartsfield-Jackson’s assistant general manager of planning and development. Emergency crews responded and took one person to a hospital. The other was assessed at the scene and continued on their travels, Nissalke said.
The collapse did not impact airport operations.
Nissalke said the cause of the collapse is still under investigation, but it was not weather-related. Storms moved through Atlanta on Thursday morning and briefly caused a ground stop for arriving flights.
The portion that fell was part of a floating ceiling that did not appear to be properly installed, Nissalke said.
“From what we can tell so far, this type of ceiling should have been attached to the underside of the roof deck,” he said. “Instead, it was attached to some adjacent ceiling grid. That ceiling grid is not designed to hold this type of ceiling because of its weight.”
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
It was installed in 2016 when the concessionaire, Paradies Lagardere, built out the leased space. He said airport officials will conduct a review of other drawings associated with the concessionaire “to see if a similar situation exists. We are going to review all those other spaces.”
Paradies Lagardere is one of the major concessionaires at Hartsfield-Jackson, with a few dozen locations across Concourses A, B and E, along with the Piedmont Park Travelmart and Heritage Books in the domestic terminal and Sweet Auburn Market in the international terminal.
“First and foremost, we appreciate the swift response by airport personnel and our own teams in assisting with the situation,” the company said in a statement. “The safety of our guests and employees is deeply important to us. We are currently working with the airport and other partners to fully evaluate the situation, including any potential injuries and/or facility damage. We will share the results of our investigation as we receive them.”
Cat Cora’s Kitchen will remain closed while repairs are underway, according to airport officials.
— Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this article.
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