[ADXA] W0AIH - SK

[w5zn at w5zn.org]

Some of you are no doubt just becoming aware of W0AIH's tragic death due 
to a tower accident this week. Paul was a model radio amateur and an 
exciting person to listen to. He was a retired Lutheran minister and 
very passionate when speaking about amateur radio. I vividly recall one 
presentation he made at the Kansas City DX Convention a few years back 
that was so moving I almost walked down the isle at the end and repented 
of all of my radio sins! Others were very funny, like the time he cut 
his Sunday morning sermon very short to the surprise of the congregation 
to get back to the house to finish a contest!

He was a supreme gentleman.

Below are some details of the accident provided by his son-in-law W0UC, 
a good friend of mine as well. Every time I hear of a tragic tower 
accident I want to know the details, not to be gory or disrespectful to 
the family or seriousness of the accident but, as someone who spends a 
great deal of time on towers here at W5ZN and other places, to 
understand and learn from a safety perspective.......it only takes one 
mental error in judgement for tragedy to strike.

I continually pressure each of you to put up new antennas, fix existing 
ones and to make improvements to your station. I have been regretfully 
remiss in stressing safety in all of these efforts. There's some DX on 
the air you need....BE SAFE, and then get on the air and work them!

My sincere condolences to Paul's very lovely and most respectful family.

73 Joel W5ZN


---------- Forwarded message ---------
 From: PAUL HUSBY <husby002 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Nov 1, 2018 at 12:18 AM
Subject: [MWA] Details on the death of W0AIH
To: <mwa at w0aa.org>

Paul was working on the 15M tower, the 4/4/4/4 this afternoon.  His
apparent plan was to straighten a bent element and check on a rotor or
two that were having problems.  (This 15M tower is 200' tall, with
separate Ham-M's at each antenna starting at 50'.)

I don't know that Paul had been working on this tower recently, but he
apparently had a line to the top and a pulley up there.  His usual
practice would be to keep a 1/4" poly rope up to the top and back if he
was going to work on a tower intermittently.  Then, when ready to work
on it, he would use that small rope to pull his good rope up and back
down, which is what he did today.  For a couple decades Paul has liked
to "ride the rope" up and down, climbing the tower only when necessary,
or when a winch operator wasn't available.  Today a friend was running
the winch, not Mary.  Paul had done some work probably at the 50' level
and was at about 60' when the winch operator said the line went slack.
The pulley had become disconnected from the top of the tower.

As I said, I don't think Paul had been on this tower recently, and he
didn't remember that this pulley was not properly attached for work.
Normally, a web "choker" would go through the ring on the top of the
pulley, around a tower leg a couple times, and then its ends joined with

a heavy shackle.  Today, only a nylon rope held the pulley, and it
broke.  KB9S said it looked weathered.  It had probably been up there
quite a while, and Paul's memory hasn't been what it used to be.  He was

not up to the top of the tower today at all, only working near the
bottom antenna.

It sounds like the kind of small rope he might use on his belt to
initially carry the pully and line up to the top of the tower.  Why he
left it there without a proper choker will be a mystery.  I'm guessing
it was many months ago, planning to do this work, but something took him

away and he never got back to it until now.  I am sorry that the winch
operator had to see it, but glad that it was nothing within his control.

I stopped by the Farm Monday on my way home from Chicago.  We talked
about CQWW Phone, and Paul said he operated more phone this time than
ever before.  He was most excited that he worked a TF friend just before

the end on 160M.  That really made a great end to the weekend.  He did
tell me, "maybe next year will be the last year for the multiop.  It's
just getting to be too much work to get ready." That surprised me, as he

has said that he thought he had another 10 years left in him.  It's a
shame it got cut short.

No word on arrangements.  My wife, Paul's youngest daughter, just
arrived in 5H-land yesterday, and I am still waiting to get through to
her.  I'll let you know.

73
Paul W0UC