Demolition of a damaged 1,000-ft-tall television tower brought down a neighboring tower despite the contractor’s best efforts. But the second tower’s collapse revealed a defect that the owner had not suspected. An investigation could lead to legal action against the antenna’s manufacturer and inspections and remedial work throughout the country, the owner says.
Four Army aviators died and one was injured when their MH-47 Chinook helicopter struck the tower in rural Colquitt County, Ga., about 8 a.m., Thursday, June 1. “The helicopter broke into three pieces,” says David Folsom, vice president of Raycom Media Inc., Montgomery, Ala., owner of the towers. The front rotor and cockpit fell at the base of the tower, killing the pilot and three other crew members. But the copilot, suffering a broken arm and a head injury, climbed out of the wreckage and walked to a house nearby, says Folsom. One of its occupants, an emergency-room nurse, tended to his injuries and then discovered the dead crewmen.