Emergency personnel observe the rescue of a tower technician in Atlanta City, NJ. Still, the worker succumbed to his injuries at the scene, marking the latest fatality in an industry that is reeling from two deaths this week and six in 2025.
A 44-year-old tower technician died late yesterday afternoon in Atlantic City, N.J., after a gin pole reportedly failed while a crew was removing an abandoned FM pylon from atop a 347-foot self-supporting tower located off Murray Avenue, near the city’s water-treatment plant.
Individuals familiar with the incident, who requested anonymity and declined to identify the technician or his employer pending formal notifications, said the three-person team on the tower was lowering the mast when the gin pole failed. The pole bent under load, they said, but did not detach from the tower but the pylon’s loadline snapped when the gin pole became compromised, possibly because it was side-loaded.
Despite heroic attempts by fellow climbers, the technician did not survive
Immediately after the failure, two technicians noticed their colleague talking but faint, with no apparent signs of injury. They immediately began assisting him down the tower. At approximately the 200-foot level, one climber realized the technician had stopped breathing, and his partner called 911.
The pair then began CPR and continued their efforts in 30-degree temperatures for approximately an hour, performing resuscitation on the structure until first responders arrived and assisted in lowering the man to the ground. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Their actions were a profound act of dedication under adverse conditions.
OSHA is investigating and is on site today.
Media outlets have incorrectly reported that the tower was 425 feet tall and that the deceased’s coworkers required rescue. Neither statement is accurate.
The Atlantic City fatality is the sixth tower-technician death of 2025—and the second this week. It follows the death of a 41-year-old technician who fell from a tower in Wisconsin on Monday. The industry recorded four fatalities in 2021, three in 2022, and just two deaths in both 2023 and 2024, a decline many saw as evidence that safety reforms were taking hold. Now, with 2025’s toll tripling last year, concerns are mounting that those hard-earned gains are slipping away.
FCC records list the tower’s construction date as 1992; however, that appears to correspond only to the installation of the FM pylon. The Blaw-Knox tower itself is believed to have been erected in the 1930s. Although it is no longer a transmitting structure, it has housed an AM signal and three FM stations over the years, and the FM antennas had been scheduled for removal this week.
New Jersey–based Subcarrier Communications acquired the tower in late 2023 from Equity Communications. Individuals who have previously worked on the structure said the safety climb was rusted in numerous locations.
Subcarrier President John Paleski confirmed that the fatality appears to have resulted from a gin pole system failure but said he could not comment further while the incident remains under investigation.
“I had just read your article about the Wisconsin fatality when news arrived of this tragedy on our tower. It’s devastating beyond words. My heart and prayers are with the worker’s family, friends, and the entire crew who are grieving this loss,” Paleski said.
Wireless Estimator will provide additional details as they become known.
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