How to report tower light outages?

[kraziebill]

I've tried the FCC, the FAA and even my local city officals. Nobody seems to care this tower is completely dark and is near the flight path of our local life flight.

This tower is litterally in the middle of the woods and has no markings on the base of the tower or the "shack". In fact the door to the shack has poison ivy growing up it and around the handle. Clearly nobody has been there in a long time.


Any ideas?

 

[Grog]

Not all towers are required to have lights, are you sure this one has to have them operating?

 

[fineshot1]

Not sure but I think the faa requirements changed. If the tower is lower than 200' then it is no longer required to have a tower light apparatus operational.

EDIT: See the link below for NOTAMs

http://radiomagonline.com/tutorials_tips/reporting-tower-light-outage-faa/

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Read this page about tower light outage


--
NEW PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING TOWER LIGHT OUTAGES
http://www.bext.com/_CGC/2007/cgc809.htm
---
A RELIABLE BACK-DOOR WAY TO REPORT A TOWER LIGHT OUTAGE
With regard to the reporting of tower light outages, there is a more reliable way to reach a briefer quickly. The standard FAA Flight Service Station number of (800) 992-7433
(800 WX-BRIEF) will connect you to a voice recognition system. Simply say "Briefer" at the first prompt. You will then be asked what state you are in. Once you give the state you will be connected to a live person at the Flight Service Station.
*snip* Dennis O'Brien, N0SP
http://www.bext.com/_CGC/2007/cgc810.htm
---

 

[OpSec]

I've tried the FCC, the FAA and even my local city officals. Nobody seems to care this tower is completely dark and is near the flight path of our local life flight.

This tower is litterally in the middle of the woods and has no markings on the base of the tower or the "shack". In fact the door to the shack has poison ivy growing up it and around the handle. Clearly nobody has been there in a long time.


Any ideas?

200 feet or less are not required to have lights unless they are within a certain radius of ariport facilities...check the FAA regs on that one. Does this tower have lights that are turned off/burned out or does it not have lights at all?

 

[kraziebill]

I'm guessing this tower is probably 400-450 feet tall at least. And yes it has lights that were on before.

 

[Thayne]

Most of them call home if there is a problem, even if one strobe is out.

 

[kraziebill]

Most of them call home if there is a problem, even if one strobe is out.

The top one has been out for about 18 months and the bottom ones for about 3 months. So I guess nobody's home to answer the phone. lol

 

[chrismol1]

The top one has been out for about 18 months and the bottom ones for about 3 months. So I guess nobody's home to answer the phone. lol

or no one cares to fix it for the flight path and no one hit it yet

 

[KLH]

We had a huge tower in our city before, and the top strobe light had been burnt out for months, if not years. One day I heard on my scanner, a police officer report to his dispatchers that a light was out on the tower.
Several months maybe even a year later, I was driving by and looked over, and the tower wasn't even there anymore. I'm not sure what happened to it. The shack is still there, but no tower.

 

[delta_p]

I've tried the FCC, the FAA and even my local city officals. Nobody seems to care this tower is completely dark and is near the flight path of our local life flight.

This tower is litterally in the middle of the woods and has no markings on the base of the tower or the "shack". In fact the door to the shack has poison ivy growing up it and around the handle. Clearly nobody has been there in a long time.


Any ideas?

A co-worker just had the same problem. He lives on a mountain and has a tower next to his house. A friend of his, a pilot, commented the danger of the lights out on a 250 ft tower. Especially with LifeFlight etc. flys nearby often. He told me about it and that he was having trouble finding who to call but that he knew the station that broadcast there. I noted that it probably a radio service and he needed to get the tower owner. We used antennafinder antennasearch.com http://www.antennasearch.com/ to locate the owner of the tower, a local radio service. He called and they had the lights running last night. Today my co-worker is upset because the strobes going off all night, . Put your address or one nearby into antennasearch and it'll probably find it and the owner info.

PP

 

[fineshot1]

A co-worker just had the same problem. He lives on a mountain and has a tower next to his house. A friend of his, a pilot, commented the danger of the lights out on a 250 ft tower. Especially with LifeFlight etc. flys nearby often. He told me about it and that he was having trouble finding who to call but that he knew the station that broadcast there. I noted that it probably a radio service and he needed to get the tower owner. We used antennafinder antennasearch.com http://www.antennasearch.com/ to locate the owner of the tower, a local radio service. He called and they had the lights running last night. Today my co-worker is upset because the strobes going off all night, . Put your address or one nearby into antennasearch and it'll probably find it and the owner info.

PP

After dark the strobe should stop and the red flashing light should kick in. Its usually controlled
by a photo cell and electronics. It sounds like it is still not functioning correctly.

 

[jim202]

There is a couple of ways to go about finding the owner of the tower. First, if the tower is as you
stated over 200 feet, it must be registered. This means it has a tower registration number. This
number is required to be posted on the gate to the site and on the base of the tower. Obtain this
number and go to the FCC site "ASR" . Plug that number in and it should provide all the info you
need.

A second way it to find the electrical meter and write down the numbers inside of it. It should
also have the name of the electric company that services that location on the meter. Call
the electrical company and politely explain the tower lighting issue and your trying to obtain
a contact person or phone number of the company paying the bill.

If all the above fails, there is always the fighting at the county land office to find who is paying
the tax on the property. Many times this will be a last resort.

Have you tried to knock on the door of the neighbors houses. Ask them if they know who owns
the tower or services it.

Another source may be the local radio shops in the area. They should know who owns the tower.

Jim

I've tried the FCC, the FAA and even my local city officals. Nobody seems to care this tower is completely dark and is near the flight path of our local life flight.

This tower is litterally in the middle of the woods and has no markings on the base of the tower or the "shack". In fact the door to the shack has poison ivy growing up it and around the handle. Clearly nobody has been there in a long time.


Any ideas?

 

[Grog]

Take lots of pictures, if the CIA fast-rope out of the trees then you know who it belonged to

 

[Jay911]

Did anyone suggest calling Life Flight? Even if you can't get the problem fixed, maybe the people who should know, you can let know.

 

[zz0468]

I've always just called the local flight service station with the lat/lon and the tower registration number. They very much DO care.

 

[delta_p]

After dark the strobe should stop and the red flashing light should kick in. Its usually controlled
by a photo cell and electronics. It sounds like it is still not functioning correctly.

Hmmm....I'll ask him today. Sounds like another phone call might be in order :wink:.

PP

 

[kb2vxa]

"Several months maybe even a year later, I was driving by and looked over, and the tower wasn't even there anymore. I'm not sure what happened to it. The shack is still there, but no tower."

Haven't you heard they're stealing everything made of metal and selling it for scrap, including towers? Welcome back Quaid and how was your stay on Mars? (;->)