Wind, rain hinder workers on radio tower

AURORA -- Workers returned to the radio tower off Eola Road this morning to take down the final section deemed unsafe after Wednesday night’s tragic helicopter crash.

At about 9:35 a.m. Saturday, crews began scaling what remained of the 734-foot-high tower for radio station WBIG. They expected to have the final section removed by noon.

Four sections of the tower, located in a field behind the radio station's offices west of Eola Road, were removed Friday by workers who used blow torches to cut the metal. Work was stopped as darkness set in Friday night, with one section remaining to be dismantled Saturday.

Aurora police continued to patrol the nearby Amli apartment complex Saturday morning. More than 1,000 residents there were asked to temporarily evacuate their homes Friday and Saturday while the crews separated the sections of tower and the pieces were hauled away by helicopter.

On Friday, workers scaled the tower in rainy and wind-whipped conditions to begin dismantling the portion of the structure damaged during this week's Air Angels crash.

Four sections of tower, located in a field behind the station's offices west of Eola Road, were removed by workers who used blow torches to cut the metal.

A helicopter -- which created 60 mph downward winds on the three-man crew, according to their supervisor -- lifted off the pieces and carried them to a nearby location.

Four people -- three Air Angels crew members and a 1-year-old Leland girl -- died after the medical transport en route to Children's Memorial Hospital from Sandwich crashed and burned in a field on Aurora's far East Side.

Although federal investigators immediately said Wednesday's fiery crash of an Air Angels chopper came after its rotor sliced a guy wire that supports the radio tower, it wasn't until repair workers ascended the structure that damage to the tower became apparent to onlookers in the form of bent metal.

Tower work resumes this morning, but residents under a voluntary evacuation were allowed to return home Friday night. Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said "the majority" of residents who were asked to leave because they live within 1,000 feet of the tower did evacuate on Thursday.

Residents in the northern portion of the Amli apartments complex will be evacuated during today's scheduled four hours of work.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not release any new details regarding the crash on Friday, but spokesman Terry Williams said no mechanical issues have been found so far. However, the investigation is ongoing and is expected to take several weeks.

Federal investigators returned to the tall, weedy field in the Night Heron Marsh Forest Preserve just off Eola Road. A large backhoe was seen scooping up soil where the bulk of the wreckage fell. A truck belonging to an environmental hazardous material cleanup company also was at the site.

Air Angels CEO Jim Adams confirmed Friday that the medical transport company is taking its own look into the crash and its aircraft would remain grounded until it is completed. There is no set timeframe for the investigation.

Air Angels is a member of a large aviation safety network, Adams said, and would be using it as a third party to conduct the review.

An additional concern, he said, is the emotional health of his employees. Adams wants to give them time to grieve before getting back to work.

"Everyone's taking it extremely hard," he said. "The life of our patient, as well as the lives of our employees, is very important to us."

But, he added, there is "healing in camaraderie," and he noted that Air Angels has received supportive letters and gifts from around the country since the crash.

Amid all the work to shore up the tower and probe the crash, four white crosses appeared early Friday across Eola from the crash site. Adorned with the names and newspaper photos of the victims -- Kirstin Blockinger, Ron Battiato, William Mann and Del Waugh -- the crosses were surrounded by flowers and stuffed animals.

The display of crosses and tower work combined to give motorists pause as they drove down Eola on Friday. One man who drove a car with firefighter license plates stopped briefly to pay his respects.

Workers spent much of the day on the tower, photographing the damage during the morning and using about two hours to dismantle most of the upper one-third of it during the late afternoon. As a steady rain fell, sparks from the workers' torches offered color to the gray skies. The orange sparks also drew the attention of Eola motorists.

At 4:45 p.m., the helicopter removed the first piece. Just after 5:30 p.m., the section showing damage was taken down. Workers ended their work around 6.

Earlier in the day, crews prepared for the dismantling by detaching two guy wires that attached to the tower at its highest point. The third was struck by the Air Angels' rotor, investigators have said.

Batavia resident Steven Zanis, whose uncle erected the crosses, stopped at the site to pay his respects and watch the tower work.

"I've never seen something like this," he said, in between snapping digital photos. "I'd hate to be up there."

Funeral arrangements have been released for two of the Air Angels flight crew members who died in Wednesday night's helicopter crash.

William Mann

Visitation from 2-8 p.m. Sunday at Cumberland Chapel, 8300 West Lawrence Ave., Norridge.

Funeral procession begins at 9:30 a.m. Monday, from Cumberland Chapel to Divine Savior Church, 7740 West Montrose Ave., Norridge.

Interment following the service at St. Joseph Burial, two blocks from the church at Belmont and Cumberland avenues, River Grove.

Ron Battiato

Visitation from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at Kurtz Memorial Chapel, 65 Old Frankfort Way, Frankfort.

Funeral services follow at 3:30.

Interment to follow at Peotone Cemetery on Corning Road in Peotone.

• Photos: Kirstin laid to rest
• Photos: Workers fix radio tower
• Photos: Copter crash probe begins
• Photos: Family's mourning begins
• Photos: The victims
• Photos: Crash scene

• Twitter: Latest developments

• Map: Crash site

Tuesday stories

• Tears, rain fall as tiny crash victim buried 
• Flight nurse a hero: 'Gave his life for little baby'
• Hero's selfless final act offers some solace'

Monday stories

• NTSB gets surveillance video
• Leland girl killed in crash laid to rest

Sunday stories

• Close-knit town asks to mourn in private
• Work finishes on damaged radio tower

Saturday stories

• Tower work complete, residents may return
• In wind, rain, workers chop up radio tower
• Radio tower well-known to local pilots

Friday stories

• Radio tower dismantled after helicopter crash
• Family of tiniest victim mourns flight crew
• Helicopter crash probe could take months
• Residents evacuating apartments near tower
• Witnesses describe the fiery crash
• Air Angels: 'We look at what's best for the patient'
• FAA under pressure to improve safety for EMS flights
• Crash turns focus on air transport safety
• Helicopter crew remembered as heroes
• Shock settles on emergency response crews

Thursday stories

• Aurora helicopter crash kills Air Angels crew, child
• Friends speak of Air Angels crew's dedication
• Witness: Debris rained down from the sky
• NTSB investigating cause of crash
• Police ask residents near crash to evacuate
• Last Air Angels crash in Fox Valley 5 years ago