[TowerTalk] Two Killed Erecting Tower

[Michael Tope]

With 60' of unguyed 25G, one exceeds the Rohn spec for overturning 
moment when the winds hit ~60 MPH. This doesn't include any
additional surface area for the climbers. 

In calm conditions, I think you would have to get pretty rambunctious 
to yield even 60' of unguyed 25G. Even if the tower were perturb 3'
off vertical, you would still need around 2000 lbs of dead weight to
exceed the Rohn spec for overturning moment at the tower base.

A broken guy line would be a more likely explanation.

Mike, W4EF.........................

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <wa4dou@juno.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2000 6:11 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Two Killed Erecting Tower


> 
> Hi Bill and Gang,
>   Yes, perhaps it would seem that some have made judgements about the
> tower accident, that may not be in harmony with the facts. Based on what
> i've 
> read so far, i can't  say just what did happen, with any authority.
> Therefore,
> it would seem that all comment so far is just speculation.
>   My take on what i read is that they probably had a level of guys on it,
> and the rope
> hauling up the next tower section broke and the falling tower section
> fell against a guy
> and brought the tower down. I base this on two things. first, i read
> somewhere that
> most people building towers ,will climb two sections above the "bracket"
> or guys, but
> that only a few will climb higher. In my own experience, Rohn 25G feels
> "unnerveingly"
> unstable, or flexible, at the top of the 2nd section. I'm not going
> higher, without temporary 
> guys. I can't even conceive of 2 people climbing a Rohn 25G, or similiar,
> or even less
> tower, to a height of 3 or 4 tower sections above the "bracket" or guys.
> To think there are
> 2 people on the whole planet, who would climb 6 sections together,
> unguyed, is out-
> rageous, absurd, even ridiculously absurd. 
> 
>   Rohn advertises frequently, in the ham magazines, that "Accidents have
> occurred
> because individuals assume situations are safe when they are not." They
> go on to
> say that " Installation and dismantling of towers is dangerous and
> temporary steel
> guys of sufficient strength and size should be used at all times when
> individuals
> are climbing towers during all types of installations and
> dismantlings.Temporary 
> steel guys should be used on the first 10 ft. of a tower during erection
> and dismantling."
> 
>   I take this to mean that there should be temporary steel guys at the
> top of every section,
> going up or comming down, when you arrive there.
> 
>   Rohn does everyone a service by publishing these ads. It isn't
> "unmanly" to follow these
> cautions. It is stupid, not to. Even more so, if you're not a
> professional. And i'm not.
> 
>   73 and be safe! Roy Lincoln WA4DOU
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -------------------------------------------------
> 
>   
> 
> 
> On Tue, 21 Mar 2000 17:02:38 EST W5USM@aol.com writes:
> > 
> > Man, what cold, hard-asses on this reflector.
> > 
> > 73 from Bill Smith, W5USM
> >     "Shortwave Since 1950"
> > 
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