Another tragic tower climber fatality
Just when the tower industry thought it was out of the woods and could put a final number on climber deaths in 2014, tragedy struck yesterday. In Greene County, Tenn., a man working on a cell tower fell 100 feet to his death. Little information is known at this time. “We don’t have any information. All we know is that he is from out of town,” EMS Director Robert Sayne said. “As far as the cause, we have no idea.” This is the 12th tower fatality of 2014.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of this climber.
UPDATE: New information has been released. The man who died has been identified as Allen Lee Cotton from South Carolina who was working for Central USA Wireless, based in Cincinnati. According to reports he was in fact wearing his safety equipment but it is unknown at this time whether it was working properly. The incident is under investigation by Greeneville police and the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Plane clips cell tower
It’s interesting that just last week the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations regarding cell towers was discussed, and now we have an incident involving both a plane and a cell tower. Perhaps they wanted to test the new regulations? No. In all seriousness, a small plane in Springfield, Missouri clipped a cell tower and then crashed into a vacant lot. Fortunately everyone is okay, suffering only minor injuries. Of the four passengers, two were just a little bruised up, but the other two, including the pilot, had to be taken to the hospital and treated for broken bones.
These towers are built tough and made to last, as evidenced by the fact that no visible damage was done to the tower – which belongs to Verizon. Service was uninterrupted. Is it wonderful when you can read about a story that could have gone horribly wrong and it turns out everyone is (relatively) okay? The aviators get to walk away and nobody lost service, so that’s a win-win.
Tower news quickies
- Emergency services get automatic access to cell tower info
- Is It Time to Unionize Tower Climbers?
- Carrier spectrum spending could impact tower sector
- North Korea shuts down towers near the China border
Regional/local tower news
- Verizon exploring 2 alternate sites for South Peabody, Mass., cell tower
- EcoTarium agrees to put cell tower on its campus in Worcester, Mass.
- Cell tower proposed on Freddy Hill Farms silo in Towamencin, Pa.
- Hearing set next week in Penn Valley, Calif., cell tower case
- Cell tower controversy highlights land use issues in New Castle County, Del.
- Neighborhood buzzing over proposed cell tower in Beaverdale, Iowa
- Planners debate cell tower in Sweetwater, Tenn.
- P&Z endorses faux palm tree cell tower in Fountain Hills, Ariz.
- Chubbuck, Idaho, council rejects putting T-Mobile US cell tower at school playground
- Football praised, cell tower decried, board delays deciding in Rappahannock County, Va.
- McHenry, Ill., County Board nixes request for taller cell tower near Bull Valley
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa, tightens ordinance on cell towers near homes
- Verizon gives up on cell tower in Marlboro, Vt.
- Residents oppose proposed cell tower in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
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