Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 201352648 - Employee killed in fall from communication tower

Accident Summary Nr: 201352648 -- Report ID: 0419700 -- Event Date: 11/23/2004
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
306754185	11/24/2004	1731	238210	Team One Communications, Inc.

Abstract: On November 23, 2004, Employee #1 was part of a crew that was installing a new antenna on top of a 300 ft tall Rohn communication tower, model 65. Employee #1 was on the tower with two coworkers when a storm blew in. The three workers stayed on the tower during the storm. After the rain passed, they began climbing down the tower, attaching coaxial cable to the tower structure as they went. At approximately 290 ft, Employee #1 apparently slipped as he was moving from one side of the three-sided tower to another side. He fell to the ground and was killed. Employee #1 was wearing a Miller climber's harness that was equipped with a double 6 ft lanyard and a 4 ft positioning lanyard; as he descended, he also had a small pulley attached to his equipment. However, his fall protection equipment was not attached to the tower. The tower had no access ladder or safety climbing device, so the workers had to use the horizontal and cross bracing to climb the tower.

Keywords: COMMUNICATION TOWER, WORK RULES, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, DESCENDING, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, SLIPPERY SURFACE, COMMUNICATION WORKER

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Tower, tank, storage elevator		New project or new addition		Under $50,000		300	X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	306754185			Fatality	Fracture	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: 290 feet Cause: Installing equipment (HVAC and other) Fatality Cause: Fall from/with structure (other than roof)

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.