In a message dated 96-10-15 12:41:58 EDT, you write:
>The article I read said the gin pole fell on a top guy cable creating a
>chain reaction. The explosions/fires could have been attributed to the
>high-power TV/radio antennas shorting when the collapse occured. Either
>way this is a horrible event.
Amen. And condolences to the families and co-workers of the killed
workers.
The company that was on the job, Doty-Moore Tower Services, is a
well-known professional rigging firm with lots of experience. The reports I
read said that they had felt that the winds were higher than they would have
liked but decided to go ahead with the job anyway.
This is very similar to the catastrophe in Oklahoma several years ago.
It was almost the same scenario where they were lifting up a big antenna and
something (a shackle?) broke up at the top. The falling hardware parted the
guy wires and it collapsed. Mark Allen, WJ7X (former ICOM service manager
and now big-wig with EF Johnson), was there and described the whole thing to
me. Pretty gruesome, to say the least.
Personally I'm not afraid to bail out of a job if prevailing weather
conditions create any doubt in the safety of the situation. I hope that you
do the same thing. You can always come back and finish the job. That's not
possible for the three guys in this latest accident.
73, Steve K7LXC
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