KATV tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The KATV Tower was a 2000 ft (609.6 m) tall television mast (or antenna tower) built at Redfield, Arkansas in 1965 at 34°28′24.0″N 92°12′11.0″W / 34.473333°N 92.203056°W. Its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) registration[1] and other sources[2] claim that it was built in 1967, but they are incorrect; the Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower Redfield also has an incorrect construction date on its FCC registration.
It was the second tallest structure in the world, after the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, when it was built; in recent years it was tied with 15 other 2000-foot masts, all built after it, as the fifth tallest structure in the world (sixth, counting the submerged Petronius oil platform).
In addition to the analog and digital transmitters of its namesake KATV, it also hosted the analog transmitter of KETS, the flagship station of the Arkansas Educational Television Network; KETS' digital transmitter is at the nearby Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower in Redfield.
On January 11, 2008, at 12:46 PM local time (1846 UTC), the tower collapsed.[3] The cause of the collapse remains unknown.[4] The crew chosen to replace older guy wires, massive cables that keep the structure in place, claim that as they were loosening one of the older guy wires, the structure began to shake and suddenly collapse. Amazingly, no serious injuries took place.[5] The structure broke into three pieces as it came crashing down, which was what it was designed to do.
This tower will not be rebuilt. KATV has received City of Little Rock, FAA and FCC approval to build a new tower on Shinall Mountain near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock, where Little Rock's other major-network affiliates (KARK-TV, KLRT-TV and KTHV) are located, as well as KATV's temporary analog signal (on KTHV's backup tower) and digital signal (a subchannel of KWBF).[6] Though the Shinall Mountain tower will be shorter, the mountain's higher elevation will raise KATV's antenna to a similar overall height.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Listing 1039813 in the FCC Antenna Structure Registration database (incorrectly gives 1967 date)
- ^ KATV Tower in the Structurae database (incorrectly gives 1967 date and location in South Dakota)
- ^ 2,000 Foot Television Tower Collapses: One Person Injured, David Goins, Fox16.com, Jan 11, 2008
- ^ KATV news: Cause of Tower Collapse Still Unknown
- ^ Broadcast Tower, Tallest in Arkansas, Collapses, One Person Injured; Stephanie Jackson, KARK 4 News, Jan 11, 2008
- ^ KATV news: KATV Gets FCC Permit for New Tower, June 17, 2008 - Little Rock
- ^ Listing 1263739 in the FCC Antenna Structure Registration database (for Shinall Mountain replacement)
