Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 20, 2008 at 10:22:26:
In Reply to: WBIG off the air posted by Mike G on October 16, 2008 at 05:23:10:
That Aurora, IL tower struck by a medical-rescue helicopter last week wasn't WBIG's.
It didn't make engineering sense that an AM at 1280 would have a 700+ foot stick and in fact it now looks like the early reports out of the market were wrong - WBIG's own three-tower array was nearby to the big tower whose guywire was clipped by the chopper. WBIG's towers are apparently okay. The stick that was involved with Wednesday night's tragedy is apparently the one once used by the former WYSY/107.9, now WLEY - and that antenna long ago moved to one of the big AM facilities in town. Engineer David Stewart of Moving Target Consulting recalls that the long-ago move of the FM antenna was handled by "young Turk Jeff Littlejohn", now Executive VP of Distribution Development at Clear Channel. Workers are dismantling the 700+ foot tower and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of the Air Angels helicopter that killed a 13-month old girl, the pilot and two medical workers.
(Tom Taylor, Radio-Info)