[TowerTalk] Details on W0AIH Tower Accident

[Allan W Schlaugat]

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