Los Angeles radio tower crash kills 2

Yesterday morning a Cessna 182 hit the 760 foot (AGL) tower of 50
kilowatt AM radio station KFI in La Mirada, Calif. The married couple
aboard the 182 were killed, and the tower came down. KFI was off the
air about an hour.

According to media reports, the plane took off from El Monte and was
landing at Fullerton Airport to pick up two people. An FAA official
said they were on base leg at the time of the crash.

If I have this figured right, the 182 was coming from the north (El
Monte is 13 nm away at 350 degrees true) and on right base for Runway
6. The radio tower is 1.5 nm from the threshold on my topo, bearing
290 true. I measure it 33 degrees off the extended centerline, offset
to the north.

Has anyone flown into Fullerton? How big a problem is the tower?
Channel 7's story on the 11 a.m. news today had an interview with a
pilot who said the tower is very hard to see from the air. On the
other hand, the other guy they put on the air pointed out the tower is
on the charts and has coexested with the airport since 1947.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/122...ane_crash.html

--

Paul Hirose
To reply by email delete INVALID from address.

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 22:46:37 GMT, Paul Hirose
wrote in
::

Has anyone flown into Fullerton? How big a problem is the tower?
Channel 7's story on the 11 a.m. news today had an interview with a
pilot who said the tower is very hard to see from the air. On the
other hand, the other guy they put on the air pointed out the tower is
on the charts and has coexested with the airport since 1947.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/122...ane_crash.html

The KFI radio tower is a little over a mile NW of Fullerton Airport.
There is often haze in the vicinity, and viewed against the ground,
the tower can be less than conspicuous. If I recall correctly, it is
not freestanding, but guyed. I make a specific effort to locate the
tower whenever I'm operating in the vicinity, because I am aware of
its insidious nature. Because the tower is 760' AGL, aircraft at the
standard traffic pattern level of 800' are vulnerable. One just
doesn't expect such a tall tower in such close proximity to an active
airport.

"Larry Dighera" wrote

Because the tower is 760' AGL, aircraft at the
standard traffic pattern level of 800' are vulnerable. One just
doesn't expect such a tall tower in such close proximity to an active
airport.

Perhaps now that it has bee knocked down, the FAA and FCC will get together
and find a more suitable location for a new tower. (wishful thinking)
--
Jim in NC

I operated out of FUL back in the late 50's, early 60's and was always
nervous about that tower especially with the frequent limited
visibility. I'm surprised it hasn't happend long before now.
Ol Shy & Bashful

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 19:32:29 -0500, "Morgans"
wrote in ::


"Larry Dighera" wrote

Because the tower is 760' AGL, aircraft at the
standard traffic pattern level of 800' are vulnerable. One just
doesn't expect such a tall tower in such close proximity to an active
airport.

Perhaps now that it has bee knocked down, the FAA and FCC will get together
and find a more suitable location for a new tower. (wishful thinking)

The TV news report I saw last night had a spokesman for KFI stating
that the tower would be reconstructed on the exact same site with the
same guy wire locations.

Perhaps painting it day-glow orange and installing xenon strobes all
over it might help make it a little more conspicuous.

On 20 Dec 2004 16:51:34 -0800, wrote in
.com::

... was always nervous about that tower ...

Me too. Its depiction on the chart somehow fails to convey its
menacing presence.

In his preflight planning, a pilot needs to be sure to include a
search for surface obstructions in those locations where he will be
operating near the ground.

The TV news report I saw last night had a spokesman for KFI stating
that the tower would be reconstructed on the exact same site with the
same guy wire locations.

Yeah that makes total sense.

Crash in to a house that's built too close to the airport, close the
airport.

Crash in to a tower that's built too close to the airport, rebuild the
tower.

Your local, state and federal government hard at work for your safety.

I've flown in and out of Fullerton and wondered how it was we were so lucky
that no one had hit that tower.

PJ

============================================
Here's to the duck who swam a lake and never lost a feather,
May sometime another year, we all be back together.
JJW
============================================

In article ,
Larry Dighera wrote:

The KFI radio tower is a little over a mile NW of Fullerton Airport.
There is often haze in the vicinity, and viewed against the ground,
the tower can be less than conspicuous. If I recall correctly, it is
not freestanding, but guyed. I make a specific effort to locate the
tower whenever I'm operating in the vicinity, because I am aware of
its insidious nature. Because the tower is 760' AGL, aircraft at the
standard traffic pattern level of 800' are vulnerable. One just
doesn't expect such a tall tower in such close proximity to an active
airport.

Towers can be very hard to spot in the haze. There is a 1500ft
tower on the top of a 2500ft ridge between Watsonville (WVI) and
South County (E16 (formerly Q99)). On a clear day, it isn't easy
to see. With fog/haze, it becomes invisible.

I took these shots on a somewhat hazy day:

http://www.panix.com/~jac/spot-the-tower/

There are strobes on it, but the tower itself is a flat grey, which
is very good at blending into the haze/fog.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.panix.com/~jac

Connecticut has an airport 4B8 with a pattern of 1,000. Not more than
2.5 miles from the theshold there is a series of TV towers at 2049-MSL,
1339-AGL. At night you'd have to be blind to hit them, on a summer
day, in unfamilar territory, you just might. Check those sectionals,
and don't forget about the "guy wires". Sorry to hear about any pilot
paying the ultimate price, I always try to learn something from their
lose.

wrote:

I'm surprised it hasn't happend long before now.

It has. I recall an aircraft snagging the tower's guy wires a number of
years ago, but I can't recall exactly when. It was inevitable, when you
consider that pilots use the radio signal to find Fullerton airport.