Part of the ceiling collapses at Atlanta airport restaurant

ATLANTA (AP) - Part of a restaurant ceiling collapsed inside Atlanta's airport Thursday, leaving a large chunk of it draped over counter tops in the dining area. One person asked to be treated by emergency crews and was taken to a hospital, airport officials said.

The collapse happened shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday in Concourse A, one of the closest concourses to the main domestic terminal, the airport said in a statement.

It appears that the ceiling was improperly attached, and there are now plans to review construction methods and design plans at other businesses inside the airport, said Tom Nissalke, the airport's assistant general manager for planning and development.

At a Thursday briefing for reporters, Nissalke d escribed the piece that fell as "a floating ceiling" and was asked whether the ceiling was "misattached."

"Based on our review, that's how it appears, yes," he said.

Because of its weight, the structure has to be attached to the rigid roof deck, which is designed to hold the weight, he said.

"It was not attached to the roof deck, based on what we've seen thus far," Nissalke said.

He estimated that the chunk of ceiling that fell weighed 700 to 800 pounds (318 to 363 kilograms) and crashed down as customers dined inside the restaurant. It had been that way for about the past three and a half years, he said.

Airport officials say they will now delve into the design plans to find out what happened.

"We're reviewing drawings that were the permitted drawings, to see exactly what happened and was the construction implemented according to the plans," Nissalke said.

The ceiling fell in Cat Cora's Kitchen, one of several airport locations opened by celebrity chef Cat Cora, a Jackson, Mississippi native. In 2015, Cora became the first-ever female Iron Chef on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America."

The company didn't immediately respond to phone and email messages Thursday. There are many companies involved in designing and building restaurants and other establishments inside the airport. Businesses lease space from the city of Atlanta, then typically prepare a design and construct the restaurant or store using architects, engineers and contractors, Nissalke said.

Photos on social media showed workers in orange vests inspecting the scene on one side of the fallen ceiling chunk, as airport travelers stood on the other side.

There was no impact on operations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, authorities said. The airport calls itself the world's busiest, averaging 275,000 passengers daily.

Upcoming Events