[TowerTalk] FAA Tower Accident
AA6DX
aa6dx at arrl.net
Tue Jun 2 11:29:57 PDT 2009
info - TSA/FAA/OSHA
73, Mark AA6DX
FMI: www.tsa.gov
Fall Proves Fatal To FAA Employee
Safety Requirements A Longstanding Issue
The Palm Beach Sheriffs Office and FAA authorities continue to investigate the death of a Federal
Aviation Administration employee who fell to his death Friday while working on a tower at Palm
Beach Airport. The employee fell sometime after 1100 from a decommissioned radar antenna at the
airport.
The employee's job was to install and maintain FAA equipment at Palm Beach Airport.
Safety of tower climbers has been a matter of concern for several months, according to minutes taken at the
FAA's Southern Region Occupational Safety, Health, and Environmental Compliance Committee. At the February
25th meeting this year, Engineering Services Representative Steve Hardee gave a presentation about the "two
person" rule and the creation of a national fall protection standard.
The rules would require two people for all climbs, that they all be First Aid and CPR trained, and that one be
rescue trained for climbs that are off the safety ladder system and on towers over 100 feet tall. The committee
recommended that both climbers be rescue trained.
The rules are not yet finalized, and it was recommended that the "corporate impacts regarding staffing this
requirement" be discussed with comptrollers.
The next meeting of the FAA's Southern Region Occupational Safety, Health, and Environmental Compliance
Committee is scheduled for June 10th.
FMI: https://employees.faa.gov/org/regional_offices/aso/safety/OSHECCOM/meeting_minutes/index.cfm
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