[SCCC] Fw: [TowerTalk] Details on W0AIH Tower Accident

[Jennifer Selbrede]

Very sad day, indeed.

Jennifer
K6ZED


> On Nov 1, 2018, at 3:52 PM, Timothy Coker via SCCC <sccc at contesting.com> wrote:
> 
> Forwarding from Towertalk.
> 
> 
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> On Thursday, November 1, 2018, 15:05, Allan W Schlaugat <reflectors at n9isn.com> wrote:
> 
> Here is a message from Paul Husby W0UC, W0AIH's son-in-law. This gives
> great detail on the accident. Needless to say after reading many of the
> comments on this reflector, this message will upset many of you. Please be
> respectful. Thanks!  Al  N9ISN  (one of the ops at W0AIH)
> 
> ---------------snip---------------------
> Paul was working on the 15M tower, the 4/4/4/4 this afternoon.  His 
> apparent plan was to straighten a bent element and check on a rotor or 
> two that were having problems.  (This 15M tower is 200' tall, with 
> separate Ham-M's at each antenna starting at 50'.)
> 
> I don't know that Paul had been working on this tower recently, but he 
> apparently had a line to the top and a pulley up there.  His usual 
> practice would be to keep a 1/4" poly rope up to the top and back if he 
> was going to work on a tower intermittently.  Then, when ready to work 
> on it, he would use that small rope to pull his good rope up and back 
> down, which is what he did today.  For a couple decades Paul has liked 
> to "ride the rope" up and down, climbing the tower only when necessary, 
> or when a winch operator wasn't available.  Today a friend was running 
> the winch, not Mary.  Paul had done some work probably at the 50' level 
> and was at about 60' when the winch operator said the line went slack.  
> The pulley had become disconnected from the top of the tower.
> 
> As I said, I don't think Paul had been on this tower recently, and he 
> didn't remember that this pulley was not properly attached for work.  
> Normally, a web "choker" would go through the ring on the top of the 
> pulley, around a tower leg a couple times, and then its ends joined with 
> a heavy shackle.  Today, only a nylon rope held the pulley, and it 
> broke.  KB9S said it looked weathered.  It had probably been up there 
> quite a while, and Paul's memory hasn't been what it used to be.  He was 
> not up to the top of the tower today at all, only working near the 
> bottom antenna.
> 
> It sounds like the kind of small rope he might use on his belt to 
> initially carry the pully and line up to the top of the tower.  Why he 
> left it there without a proper choker will be a mystery.  I'm guessing 
> it was many months ago, planning to do this work, but something took him 
> away and he never got back to it until now.  I am sorry that the winch 
> operator had to see it, but glad that it was nothing within his control.
> 
> I stopped by the Farm Monday on my way home from Chicago.  We talked 
> about CQWW Phone, and Paul said he operated more phone this time than 
> ever before.  He was most excited that he worked a TF friend just before 
> the end on 160M.  That really made a great end to the weekend.  He did 
> tell me, "maybe next year will be the last year for the multiop.  It's 
> just getting to be too much work to get ready." That surprised me, as he 
> has said that he thought he had another 10 years left in him.  It's a 
> shame it got cut short.
> 
> No word on arrangements.  My wife, Paul's youngest daughter, just 
> arrived in 5H-land yesterday, and I am still waiting to get through to 
> her.  I'll let you know.
> 
> 73
> Paul W0UC 
> 
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