Radio masts and towers - catastrophic collapses
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Masts and towers can collapse due to natural disasters, such as storms and fires; from engineering defects; and from accidents or sabotage. Here is a list of such incidents:
| Location | Date | Mode of construction | Height | Reason for collapse | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nauen, Germany | March 30, 1912 | Guyed steel framework mast | 200 m | Storm | |
| Norddeich, Germany | November 25, 1925 | Guyed steel framework mast | ? | Storm | Three towers collapsed |
| Western mast of Zeesen transmitter, Zeesen, Germany | 1927 | Guyed steel framework mast | 210 m | Collapse at construction | |
| Munich-Stadelheim, Germany | November 23, 1930 | Free standing wood framework tower | 75 m | Storm | Two towers snapped of 25 metres above ground |
| Langenberg, Germany | October 10, 1935 | Free standing wood framework tower | 150 m | Tornado | replaced by triangle antenna |
| Langenberg, Germany | 1949 | Guyed steel tube mast | 51 m | storm | 2 masts of a triangle aerial |
| Hamburg-Billwerder, Germany | December 1949 | Guyed steel framework mast | 198 m | storm | Partially destrucion of a guyed mast under construction |
| WOAI, Selma (San Antonio), USA | 1957/1958 | Guyed steel framework mast | 50 m | Aircraft collision | |
| Ochsenkopf, Germany | January, 1958 | Guyed steel tube mast | 50 m | Icing | Replaced by concrete tower |
| LORAN-C transmitter Carolina Beach, Carolina Beach, USA | 1961 | Lattice Tower | 190,5 m | Storm | Tower buckled at 2/3 of height. Tower carried radials on its top although it was not designed for. |
| Villebon sur Yvette, France | December 10, 1961 | Guyed steel framework mast | ? | Terrorism | |
| LORAN-C transmitter Ejde, Ejde, Faroer | 1962 | Guyed steel framework mast | 190.5 m | Material fault | Slip of guy |
| Angissq LORAN-C transmitter, Angissq, Greenland | July 27, 1964 | Guyed steel framework mast | 411.48 m | Material fault | Replaced by 704 ft (214 metre) tall mast radiator |
| Yap LORAN-C transmitter, Yap Island, Micronesia | 1964 | Guyed steel framework mast | 304.8 m | Collapsed during construction | |
| Iwo Jima LORAN-C transmitter, Japan | 1965 | Guyed steel framework mast | 411.48 m | Maintenance work | The collapsing mast destroyed also the transmitter building. 6 persons were killed. |
| KXJB-TV mast, North Dakota, USA | February 14, 1966 | Guyed steel framework mast | 627.89 m | Helicopter collision | |
| WLBT TV Tower, Raymond, MS USA | March 3, 1966 | Guyed steel framework | 487.6 m | F5 Tornado | Replaced with 609.3 m tower which collapsed in 1997 |
| Waltham mast, UK | 1967 | Guyed tubular steel mast | 290 m | Storm: high winds causing oscillations in the mast structure | |
| KELO TV Tower, Rowena, South Dakota, USA | 1968 | Guyed steel framework mast | 609.6 m | Airplane collision | |
| WAEO Tower, Starks, Wisconsin, USA | November 17, 1968 | Guyed steel framework mast | 524.25 m | collapse due to plane collision with guy wire | |
| Marnach, Luxemburg | January 17, 1969 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Emley Moor, Great Britain | March 19, 1969 | Guyed tubular steel mast | 385 m | Ice | Replaced by 330.4 m free-standing concrete tower |
| Orlunda, Sweden | 1970 | Guyed steel framework mast | 250 m | Lightning (Destruction of basement insulator) | |
| KOIN-TV Transmitter Towers, Portland, Oregon, USA | February 28, 1971 | Guyed steel framework mast | 304.8 m + 213.4 m | Icing | Two Towers collapsed |
| Königswusterhausen, Germany | November 15, 1972 | Lattice steel tower | 243 m | storm | |
| Bithlo (near Orlando), Florida | June 8, 1973 | Guyed Steel Tower | 457.2 m | Collapsed because of removal of load bearing diagonals during FM antenna installation. | Multi-station tower supporting antennas of TV stations WDBO-TV, WFTV, and WMFE-TV, and radio stations WDBO-FM and WDIZ-FM -- two workers on tower killed |
| ?, City of Kennett | 1973 | ? | 21.33 m | ? | |
| TV Mast Brest - Roc Trédudon | February 1974 | Guyed steel framework mast | ? | Terrorism | |
| KELO TV Tower, Rowena, South Dakota, USA | 1975 | Guyed steel framework mast | 609.6 m | Blizzard | |
| Sendemast SL3, Burg bei Magdeburg, Germany | February 18, 1976 | Guyed steel framework mast | 350 m | Material fault | |
| KSLA-TV Tower, USA | 1977 | Guyed steel framework mast | 521 m | ? | |
| WJJY TV Mast, Bluffs, IL USA | March 26, 1978 (Easter Sunday) | Guyed steel framework mast | 491 m | Ice - The strain snapped 2-inch coupling bolts (24 of them) that joined the 2nd and 3rd sections. | In August 1969 - This tower was 1 of 3 tallest structures in the Northern Hemisphere and transmitter radiated the most powerful UHF-TV signal in the world. TV channel 14 (470-476 MHz) |
| Wand TV Tower Decatur, Decatur, IL USA | March 26, 1978 (Easter Sunday) | Guyed steel framework mast | 400.5 m | Ice - Same ice storm that toppled WJJY. Upper section of antenna broke loose and fell through the guy wires. | WAND and WJJY used the same RCA UHF antennas, mfg in 1969. TV channel 17 (488-494 MHz) |
| Nebraska Education Tower Angora, USA | February 1978 | Guyed steel framework mast | 456.9 m | Ice | |
| Zehlendorf bei Oranienburg, Germany | May 21, 1978 | Guyed steel framework mast | 352 m | Aircraft collision | |
| CKVR Television Tower, Barrie, Ontario, Canada | 1978 | ? | 65.58 m | Aircraft collision | |
| Vysílač Krašov, Bezvěrov, Czech | 1979 | Guyed Mast of lattice steel | 305 m | Icing | Mast was predamaged |
| LORAN-C transmitter Jan Mayen, Jan Mayen, Norway | October 8, 1980 | Guyed Mast of lattice steel | 190.5 m | Icing | Guys were inproperly installed |
| Dudelange Radio Tower | July 31, 1981 | Lattice steel tower | 285 m | Aircraft collision | |
| ?, USA | 1982 | Guyed steel framework mast | 305 m | ? | |
| WCIQ Tower, Mount Cheaha, Alabama, USA | January 1982 | Guyed steel framework mast | ? | Ice Storm | |
| Senior Road Tower, Missouri City, Texas, USA | 1982 | Guyed steel framework mast | ? | ? | |
| TV mast Wavre, Belgium | October 13, 1983 | Guyed mast | ? | Storm | |
| Bielstein, Germany | January 15, 1985 | Guyed steel tube mast | 298 m | Ice | |
| Caroline 558 & Radio Monique mast, aboard MV Ross Revenge, off English coast | November 25, 1987 | Lattice steel tower | 92 m approx | Force 8 storm | Tallest ever mast aboard any ship; replaced by horizontal wire antenna between two shorter masts |
| KTVO-TV Tower, Missouri, USA | June 2, 1988 | Guyed steel framework mast | 609.6 m | Collapse during construction of new 2000 ft. tower. 3 technicians killed. | |
| KGO (AM) towers, Newark, California, USA | October 17, 1989 | ? | 91 m | Earthquake | Three towers damaged |
| WRAL-TV & WPTF-TV towers, Auburn, North Carolina, USA | December, 1989 | 2 Guyed steel tube framework mast | 609.3 m | Ice | Unusually heavy ice concentrated at top predominantly on one side of towers caused unsymmetrical load. Dislodged essentially as one piece during rapid warming; sudden unloading caused dynamic failure. |
| Konstantynow, Poland | August 8, 1991 | Guyed steel tube framework mast | 648.38 m | Maintenance | Replacement by facility in Solec Kujawski |
| WCIX TV Tower Homestead (Miami) Florida | August 25, 1992 | Guyed steel tower | 549m | Hurricane Andrew | Rebuilt by LeBlanc Tower of Canada |
| COMMSTA Miami | 1992 | Guyed Mast (insulated) | 91.44 m | Hurricane Andrew | Collapse of 2 masts |
| Cape Race LORAN-C transmitter, Cape Race, Canada | February 2, 1993 | Guyed steel framework mast | 411.48 m | Material Fault | Fatigue failure of the eyebolt head in a compression cone insulator on structural guy caused swing-in damage, which resulted in structural collapse |
| LORAN-C transmitter Kargaburan, Kargaburan, Turkey | February 25, 1993 | Guyed steel framework mast | 190.5 m | Snowstorm | Tower had constructive faults |
| WCOV-TV Tower, Montgomery, USA | 1996 | ? | 242m | Tornado | |
| Channel 39 KXTX TV-Mast, Cedar Hill, Texas, USA | 1996 | Guyed steel tower | 468m | Maintenance | 3 died when tower collapsed in moderate wind gust |
| Langenberg, Germany | September 2, 1996 | Guyed steel framework mast | 160 m | Maintenance | |
| ?, USA | December 31, 1996 | ? | 195,1 m | material fault | |
| KXJB-TV mast, North Dakota, USA | April 6, 1997 | Guyed steel framework mast | 627.89 m | Ice | |
| KNOE-TV Tower, Louisiana, USA | March 20, 1997 | Guyed steel framework mast | 606.25 m | Maintenance | One killed, 2 injured when workers failed to install temporary braces |
| WLBT-TV Tower, Mississippi, USA | October 23, 1997 | Guyed steel framework | 609,3 m | Maintenance | Three killed - temporary braces failed during HDTV antenna upgrade |
| WKY Mast, USA | June 13, 1998 | Guyed mast | 292.9 m | Tornado | |
| TV Tower Avala, Serbien | April 30, 1999 | Concrete tower (with observation deck) | 202.87 m | Air raid of USA | |
| WRMD-Tower, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA | April 25, 2000 | Guyed steel framework mast | 197.8 m | Helicopter crash | 3 die when medical helicopter hits guy wire in clear weather and crashes |
| WNWI 1080-Towers, Oak Lawn (Chicago), Illinois, USA | July 9, 2000 | Guyed steel framework mast | 61 m | Sabotage | Two towers collapsed |
| KXEO/KWWR-Tower, Mexico, MO, USA | August 23, 2000 | Guyed steel framework mast | 122,8 m | Storm | |
| CBC Tower, Canada | April 22, 2001 | Guyed steel framework mast | 371 m | Blown up after aircraft crash | |
| KDUH/CH4 TV Mast, Hemingford, Nebraska, USA | September 24, 2002 | Guyed steel framework mast | 599 m | Maintenance | Two workers killed, 3 injured on ground |
| WVAH Tower, West Virginia, USA | February 19, 2003 | Guyed steel framework mast | 473 m | Ice | |
| WPAY (AM)-Towert, Portsmouth, Ohio, USA | February 19, 2003 | Guyed steel framework mast | 200,9 m | Ice | |
| WMBD Tower, Peoria, Illinois, USA | May 10, 2003 | Free standing steel framework tower | ? | Tornado | Collapse of 3 towers |
| KETV TV Tower | July, 2003 | Guyed steel framework mast | 415.1 m | Reconstruction work | |
| WIFR TV tower | July 5, 2003 | Guyed steel framework mast | 222.8 m | Storm (derecho) | |
| Utrecht, Netherlands | September 8, 2003 | Guyed steel framework mast | 45 m | Fallen at falling trees | |
| Peterborough, Great Britain | October 30, 2004 | Guyed steel framework mast | 163 m | Fire | |
| KFI Mast, Los Angeles, USA | December 19, 2004 | Guyed steel framework mast | 195.1 m | Aircraft collision | |
| WSWS-TV (now WLGA) Transmitter Tower, Cusseta, Georgia, USA | February 27, 2005 | Guyed steel framework mast | 538.3 m | Replacement tower completed September 15, 2005. | |
| Nebraska Education Tower Atlanta, Atlanta, Nebraska, USA | November 25, 2005 | Guyed steel framework mast | 324.8 m | Aircraft collision | All three aircraft occupants killed |
