You're absolutely correct. RC design is very complex, but very conservative. There should have been 'oh shit' levels of cracking and rebar exposed, and in spec

You're absolutely correct. RC design is very complex, but very conservative. There should have been 'oh shit' levels of cracking and rebar exposed, and in specific places. That's not what the infamous "inspection" showed. And even then, it should have tolerated multiple complete local failures before cascading catastrophic failure. ETA: It's hard to see in these photos bc of the the quality, but the rebar in the pool pump room is more concerning than anything in the 2018 report, but still doesn't look anywhere close to failure. (Actual structural inspections should be able to clearly show cracks 1/16th" or smaller, at a resolution you can measure them from the picture) Edit 2: The equipment room in that picture didn't even collapse.