GoFundMe Page for Tower Accident

[W3WN]

I just learned of this tower accident. Although the details on the page don't explicitly state this, it appears that the injured person is AA9TJ (although I could well be wrong).

h (https://gf.me/u/yr6tgn)ttps://gf.me/u/yr6tgn (https://gf.me/u/yr6tgn)

"My older Brother David Shurtz was working on a communications tower for me and his safety strap broke loose he fell 45 to 50 feet landing on the ground hard. He has severe injuries and has been to 3 hospitals via helicopter flights. He is unemployed due to Covid-19 and was looking for work.

He and his wife are both near retirement age and this will devastate them financially and he is racking up big medical bills and his wife is having to pay for travel and food plus try and work to keep bills paid. They need money fast and anything that could help. I set fund at $20,000 but it could go much higher please help any donation will be a great blessing.

He has been moved via life flight to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO now to face other surgeries. This is quickly becoming more and more expensive for his family They need help." (posted by Charles Shurtz)

[For what it's worth, I did make a small donation.]

[PA5COR]

One reason we have universal healthcare.
sorry to read it, wishing him speedy recovery.

[N8YX]

How old was said strap?

One of my area buddies owns a tower maintenance, leasing and construction concern. He and another friend who works with him have H-style harnesses with multiple safety lines; any one of which by itself can easily support double the harness's rated load capacity. These co$t. Nevertheless, the lines and the harness have a finite life span, after which they're retired and new gear acquired.

You don't really think about such things when you're on the average amateur tower but I guarantee you will if you're 1100+ ft. up.

[W3WN]

Update posted today... sad news...

My dear sweet brother has passed away this morning leaving his wife, daughters, grandchildren, brother, and dad behind just 25 days after our mother passed away. His wife will need all the funds she can get now to plan his funeral and pay medical bills and get his affairs all in order. Thank you and bless you all that gave or prayed for him you have no idea how much this means to us. Please do not contact my Father he is elderly and just lost his oldest son and his wife it is going to be so hard on him we may have yet another death.

[koØm]

My condolences to the family, friends and radio community.

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How old was said strap?

One of my area buddies owns a tower maintenance, leasing and construction concern. He and another friend who works with him have H-style harnesses with multiple safety lines; any one of which by itself can easily support double the harness's rated load capacity. These co$t. Nevertheless, the lines and the harness have a finite life span, after which they're retired and new gear acquired.

You don't really think about such things when you're on the average amateur tower but I guarantee you will if you're 1100+ ft. up.

When I was active, our radio community only had one belt and, it's been around since the 1970's, it was still in use maybe 3-4 years ago.

I'm sure that it was inspected before every use. As long as you didn't weigh too much or stress the clamps on the tower, all was well. after a while, I found it was easier to rent a basket truck for two hours minimum and do all my antenna work like that. Truck rental was $55.00 an hour back in the early 90's.