[TowerTalk] Another tower disaster update.....

[AA6DX]

SALISBURY
Winch called likely cause of 3 falling to deaths
Three men who fell 1,000 feet to their deaths from a communication tower
were lifted by a winch designed only to lift materials, not people,
according to a state report.
     The report, issued last week by the state Labor Department, listed 22
safety and health violations that contributed to the fatal accident Dec 3.
     The winch also was being used to lift a "rest platform," using the same
rope to which the men were attached. The platform may have gotten hung on
the tower, causing the rope to become loose and jump off the winch, the
investigation found.
     Daniel Zortman, 40, his stepson, Ronald Dean Brooks, 16, and Charles
Shively, 19, fell to their deaths while painting the 1,500-foot tower in
western Rowan County.
     They were being hoisted up the tower on a rope when the rope slipped
off the winch and they fell, the report said.
     Among the violations were:
The winch used to lift the workers was designed by the manufacturer to hoist
materials up to 1,000 pounds. Using such a winch to lift people is
prohibited.
No block was used to keep the nylon rope lifting the workers from slipping
off the winch.
The workers were in body harnesses to which materials, including up to four
gallons of paint apiece, were also attached.



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