The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concluded that contractors were to blame for the collapse of the tower of KOZK-TV Fordland, Mo,(Ozarks Public Television) back in April. That is according to Current, which covers noncommercial TV and radio issues, per an OSHA report it obtained via a FOIA request.

The accident killed the head of one of the two engineering firms hired to reinforce the tower, Tower Consultants Inc. and Steve Lemay LLC. Lemay, who was contracted by TCI to do the structural reinforcements, was killed and three of his workers injured when the 1,891 ft. tower collapsed. 

[Read: 'The Most Dangerous Job in America']

OSHA concluded that removing bolts on diagonal braces during the reinforcing process compromised the structure, that Lemay used undersized equipment, and that TCI failed to approve the design of a temporary frame prior to replacing a diagonal, as it was required to do.

The station was being repacked from channel 23 to channel 16, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, and was in the FCC's first phase of stations needing to move to new channels, which must be completed by the end of November.

The reinforcement was required for the tower to comply with wind and ice loads.

NAB has expressed concerns about safety with so much tower work needed to meet the repack deadlines.

A year ago, the National Association of Broadcasters released a video explaining the implications of the channel repack that nearly 1,000 U.S. TV broadcasters are undergoing after the spectrum auctions. The video was designed to inform the public about a complex, dangerous project and how difficult it would be to complete within the 39 months provided by the FCC. In addition to the financial burdens, it emphasized the technical and logistical challenges faced by tower companies.

“There’s no easy template for this work,” a spokesman in the video said. “It’s hard, expensive and dangerous. There are only a handful of companies in America that can do it safely, and there are nearly 1,000 stations to be moved. Unfortunately the math doesn’t add up. Stations are being forced to move without the time and money to do it successfully.”

We are now seeing some potentially tragic results that could come with a deadline that many warned was unreasonable. Last month, Steve Lemay, owner of a Washington-based tower company was killed and three of his crew members were injured when the 1,980-foot tower for Ozarks Public Television station KOZK-TV in Fordland, Mo., collapsed. TV Technology extends our condolences to Lemay’s family and colleagues over this terrible accident.

[Read: Missouri TV Tower Collapses]

Lemay was working on a $3.4 million project to repack KOZK’s channel from 23 to 16. Lemay and his crew were only 100 feet up the tower, attempting to reinforce the structure when the accident occurred. At press time, the station has returned to cable and satellite and is broadcasting on a limited temporary site.

Lemay is the fourth tower worker to lose his life working on a broadcast tower since channel repack work commenced a year ago. In September, three members of a tower crew lost their lives while working on a 1,250-foot TV tower in Miami Gardens, Fla. It has since been confirmed that both the Miami Gardens and Fordland accidents were a result of work done on the repack. To put this into perspective, there were eight tower deaths in 2017 (three which resulted from repack work), and two so far in 2018 (one from repack work), while in 2016, there were seven overall, according to wirelessestimator.com.

Lemay was considered a consummate professional by his peers and had 25 years’ experience in the tower business; the accident is under investigation so we don’t yet know what was the cause. However, what we do know is that despite tower crews taking all the necessary safety precautions, four deaths have occurred in less than a year due to this work and it may be time for the FCC to reconsider its timeline. We may never be able to say directly that a rushed repack schedule played a role in these tragedies; but any responsible observer could conclude that it’s possible — and that taking more time in this process in the interest of safety is the prudent course. Although some funding has been added to the repack budget earlier this year, the commission should also look into extending the deadline to allow for more flexibility in scheduling tower work before more workers get injured or lose their lives.

“The concern a lot of people have about the repack is that the timeframe is based on everything going right,” Iowa Public Television Director of Engineering and TV Technology contributor Bill Hayes told Current. “The fact is, there are so few crews that are capable of doing this work safely and they’re going to be stretched thin. Something has to give and the hope is that what’s going to give is the timeline.”

Hayes added that without extensions to the schedule, “you can be gambling at best with the reliability of your station’s service, and at worst you’re gambling with people’s lives.”

We couldn’t agree more. OSHA ranks tower work as “the most dangerous job in America.” It’s up to the FCC to consider that fact and reevaluate its repack deadlines.

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FORDLAND, MO.—The Occupational and Safety Hazard Agency says it will examine the cause of the tower collapse in Fordland, Mo. yesterday that took the life of a 56-year old owner of a Washington-state tower company, according to KY3.com.

Steve J. Lemay was identified as the victim in the accident, which also injured three other crew members. Lemay had 25 years of experience and formed Steve Lemay LLC in 2013.  

 The tower hosted Ozarks Public Television 's KOZK-TV, a PBS affiliate owned by Missouri State University.

OSHA said it would investigate what caused the accident and if workers were complying with OSHA standards. The agency said workers had climbed approximately 100 feet up the nearly 2,000 foot tall tower when it collapsed.   

According to Ozarks Public Radio station KSMU, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an investigation and that other stations in the region are assisting in getting the station back on the air.   

FORDLAND, MO.--At least one worker is dead and three others are injured after the station tower of Ozarks Public Television's KOZK-TV collapsed in Fordland, Mo., KYTV-TV of Springfield, Mo., has reported.

KYTV said the tower collapsed Thursday morning (April 19) while a crew of seven was working on it.

The noncommercial station is a PBS affiliate owned by Missouri State University.

That station is being repacked from channel 23 to channel 16, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, and is in the FCC's first phase of stations needing to move to new channels -- the move must be completed by the end of this year.

Whether the tower work was related to the repack had not been determined, though there will be much tower work involved in a move affecting most of a thousand stations.

The station had a 2,000-foot tower built in 2003, according to the NAB.

KOZK executives were not available for comment at press time, but the Springfield News-Leader quoted MSU spokeswoman Andrea Mostyn at the scene as saying the station was "conducting some tower...modifications to comply with some FCC changes to channels."

According to an automatic e-mail response, Ozark's chief engineer was scheduled to be out of the office until April 23.

NAB has expressed concerns about safety with so much tower work needed to meet the repack deadlines.

Suzanne Shaw, vice president for marketing and communications for Missouri State University, confirmed that the crew was working on repack-related equipment issues rather than routine maintenance. "They were adding reinforcements to accommodate the new equipment associated with channel repacking," she said.

Shaw said the crew was working at about the 105 ft.-level of the 1,980 ft. tower when they sensed something was wrong and were getting off the tower when it collapsed. She said there were six crew members working on the tower, with one fatality--one crew member was caught under the tower--and minor injuries to others, though she said they were non-life threatening and that they had all been released from a local hospital.

The university was reaching out to the family of the killed worker and providing support to the other members of the crew, giving them transportation and working with them on arranging their trip home--they are based in Washington State.She said the crew was from a subcontractor for a larger tower company.

Shaw said KOZK-TV remains off the air, and that the collapse also affected the NOAH weather station, but not KSMU, the university radio station, which was not co-located. Shaw said she had no estimate on when the station would be back on the air, but said they were talking with local broadcasters to partner with them in some way.

[Read: Repack Work Claims Three Lives]

That station is being repacked from channel 23 to channel 16, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, and is in the FCC's first phase of stations needing to move to new channels—the move must be completed by the end of this year.

Whether the tower work was related to the repack had not been determined, though there will be much tower work involved in a move affecting most of a thousand stations.

The station had a 2,000-foot tower built in 2003, according to the NAB.

KOZK executives were not available for comment at press time.

This story has been updated.