Mast safety has always been a concern with live television news operations. Recently people have been seriously injured and killed when masts came into contact with power lines. We should all be well aware of the hazards involved with raising a mast or we shouldn’t be in the field operating a live unit. Here’s something many of us may not have considered. Regular mast inspection and maintenance by qualified personnel is at least as important as watching where you raise it. Possibly even more so because a malfunctioning mast can fail with out warning and with catastrophic results. The unofficial cause of this mess was a combination of over pressure in the mast and a botched rebuild job done by a local hydraulic and pneumatic repair shop. Fortunately, when it blew out, no one was injured. But it could easily have gone the other way. Make sure your mast is maintained by people who are familiar with ENG masts. Take a look at the pressure gage on the mast. Most masts of the type pictured are supposed to be limited to 30 p.s.i. If the regulator is out of adjustment of has failed, you risk something similar to these pictures. |
