A parachutist jumped from a Farmington television tower this morning, after gaining access to the tightly-secured site and climbing the 1, 339 foot tower on Rattlesnake Mountain off Route 6. The president of Communications Site Management, Arnold chase says alarms went off at about 5:30 a.m. bringing police and tower operators to the scene. They found no one on the ground, but about an hour later, tower personnel saw someone jump.
He says the individual free-fell about 800 feet, then the parachute opened and the person disappeared in the woods.
A car found about half a mile away was towed.
Chase says security at the site is high, including 10-foot-high chain-link fence. He says anyone exposing himself to the broadcast radiation from the tower risks serious health problems, including cataracts, since the tower was operating at full power at the time. The power is reduced when scheduled maintenance requires engineers to be on the tower.
Police were called from the scene to the fatal accident involving a pedestrian on Brickyard Road.
Tower Operator Talks About Parachute Jump in Farmington
Arnold Chase, president of Communications Site Management, describes what is known about the parachute jump from a television tower on Rattlesnake Mountain off Route 6.
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