Extinguished tower light poses ‘hazard’
A radio tower in Sun City is in need of a new light to warn low flying aircraft. Tuesday, August 13, 2013
(Nick Cote/Daily News-Sun)
“We want to make sure it is taken care of so we don’t have a dangerous situation occur,” said Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Paul Chagolla.
“It is a hazard,” said Chagolla, the division commander of aviation, citing there is a hospital northeast of the area.
He said MCSO would be the ones to respond if there is a mishap, so the owner of the tower needs to be aware of it.
Sun City resident Alan Johnson lives a half mile southwest of the tower. He said he noticed the light that blinks on top of the tower was out over the weekend and the lights one-third of the way down the tower were flashing.
Johnson was concerned about the top light not being replaced. “I thought, ‘Man, what’s holding this thing up?’”
Banner Boswell Medical Center is located approximately a half mile northeast of the tower where PHI Air Evac and Native Air Ambulance bring in patients by helicopter.
Tracey Budz, director of corporate communications for Native Air, said the aviation team and local pilots are “aware of the tower, but their typical approach into that facility is on the opposite site.”
She said the company’s fleet is 100 percent equipped with night-vision goggle technology that allows the crews to see the structure regardless of whether or not the light is operational.
FMHC construction workers were replacing the incandescent bulbs with LEDs on the lower part of the tower Tuesday, and said they were ordering a new LED bulb for the top but weren’t sure when it will arrive from the East Coast.
The workers, who didn’t want to be identified, also were not sure how long the top light has been out of service.
Story and Photo: http://www.yourwestvalley.com
