Cqtestk4xs@aol.com wrote:
> I subscribe to towerpro on yahoo groups. There is seldom a week or two that
> goes by that a professional tower climber doesn't get killed in a tower
> accident. These guys are trained and certified and they still
> die....sometimes
> because of equipment failure, but sometimes through carelessness.
>
> If these pros are not invincible, neither are we hams. It's been eighteen
> months since I went up a tower and in a few weeks I will be spending lots of
> time up there. The New Mexico ham's death is a wakeup call for me. I
> definitely will be tied to the tower at all times. Stay safe!
>
> Bill K4XS/KH7XS
>
It's because of the simple fact that even the professionals are not
following all the proper safety procedures. They may be trained and
certified, but they then set all that aside and use unsafe procedures.
I have done professional tower work, and I've had people get testy with
me for not discarding my safety procedures when they saw that it was
making the job take longer. I've heard of tower maintenance companies
that insist on unsafe procedures to maximize production. I know of one
tower climber who erected and maintained countless towers, including
television transmitter towers more than 1000 feet high. He always
free-climbed, and never hooked off unless he was stopped. Now it never
took his life, he died in his 70s of other causes... but I have to
wonder just how many people saw him as an example and now climb the same
way?
--
Ethan KC8HES
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|