UTARC 1995 Tower Wind Storm Damage

A very violent wind storm tore through the University of Texas campus in September, 1995. Among the damage on campus was the tower at the University of Texas Amateur Radio Club station N5XU. Fortunately, the tower failure occured when nobody was nearby and none of the tower fell to ground level. A replacement tower was finally raised in April, 1996.

	Closeup of the HF beam and 40M dipole bent over the club station's penthouse.
	Another shot of the HF beam. Luckily no antenna or tower section left the roof.
	A shot from the penthouse roof showing the tower section leading to the HF beam.
	The likely culprit. Note the rusty bolts in the legs still connected. The non-Grade Five bolts in the third leg are probably what gave way and allowed the tower to pivot.