A tower broadcasting a Missouri AM station is the third to be destroyed in October, after the 75-year-old structure collapsed on October 24. A snapped guy wire caused the tower for Joplin’s KRMO-AM 990 to fall to the northwest, narrowly missing the transmitter housing.
According to the Lawrence County Record, Eagle Broadcasting co-owner Dewayne Gandy was mowing near the site when he witnessed the tower’s sudden fall. The structure, built in 1949, had recently undergone maintenance. The agricultural-focused station’s broadcasts continued through its streaming service, and the station resumed local radio transmission by sharing tower access with sister station KSWM-AM 940 in Aurora, MO.
The Gandys say they will rebuild the tower on the same site.
The collapse is the latest in a string of incidents leading to the destruction of broadcast towers.
A helicopter crash near downtown Houston on October 20 resulted in four fatalities, including a child, and caused the collapse of a tower broadcasting two TelevisaUnivision stations. 102.9 Qué Buena (KLTN) and 104.9 Tú Musica (KAMA) were taken off air when the private touring helicopter made contact with the structure.
A hot-air balloon participating in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta collided with and destroyed a 650-foot AM radio tower on October 11, which was used to transmit Cumulus Media’s NewsTalk KKOB-AM. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office reported that the balloon, carrying three passengers, landed safely in a nearby field.
October has been a challenging month for broadcast towers.