156 COLLAPSE OF TEXAS TOWER NO. 4 



opinion of the archite<3t and engineer that it had to be accomplished 

 during the coming construction season, 



Mr. Kendall. Will you make a copy of that a part of the record, 

 please, Captain ? 



Captain White. We shall be happy to, sir. 



Senator Stennis. It comes in the record at this point. 



(The document referred to is as follows :) 



March 1,1960. 

 Routine. 

 Deferred. 



551st AEW&CON WG Otis AFB. 

 26 AIR DIV (SAGE) Stewart AFB. 

 Info : ADC ENT AFB. 



AFRCE, NE, 424 Trapelo Road, Waltliam, Mass. (Mail.) 

 1st Naval District, Boston, Mass. ( Mail. ) 



Unclassified from 551IDC 0979. Action 26 AD (SAGE) for 26 IDC ; Info ADC 

 for ADIFS, AFRCE, NE. Subject: Underwater Structural Deficiencies— TT 4. 

 This message in 6 parts. Part I : On 20 Jan. 60, 4604th SUPPRON informed this 

 hq of excessive motion and unusual noise being experienced aboard subject tower. 

 Underwater inspection by contract was performed on 8 Feb. Divers reported 

 pinned joints of bracing at minus 25-f t level have horizontal motion of approx 1 

 inch and joints at minus 7.5-ft level motion of ^A inch. This motion has increased 

 from original tolerance of % inch since May 59. Part II : Increased sway 

 prompted meeting on 25 Feb with original structural designers of tower (Moran, 

 Proctor, Mueser and Rutledge of New York). Info obtained from meeting in- 

 dicated firm recognized sway problem and prepared design for additional bracing 

 above sea level as part of cancelled FY61 MCP SAGE modification program. Part 

 III : Installation of additional bracing as outlined in Part II .above will present 

 construct costs of $400,000 to $500,000 and AE costs, including Titles I & II 

 services, $16,000. Part IV : Mr. Kuss, structural engineer of above firm, con- 

 siders subject deficiency of emergency-type nature from which tower may be 

 lost during winter storms if work not accomplished within next 5-month period. 

 Part V : Based on previous records of sea conditions, structural bracing repairs 

 must be completed NLT 1 Aug, requiring expeditious action in procurement, 

 fabrication and construction phases of this project. Part VI : Complete report, 

 including meeting minutes, being forwarded your hq under separate corre- 

 spondence. 



Francis Kapp, 

 Major, USAF, D/C for Installations. 



EMERGENCY CITED 



Mr. Kendall. I believe it is stated in that message that Mr. Kuss, 

 who was the design engineer, considered the loose pin connections of 

 an emergency nature ; is that right ? 



Captain White. That is correct. 



Mr. Kendall. And he stated further that the tower might be lost 

 if it were not corrected by August 1 ; is that right ? 



Captain White. That is my recollection ; yes, sir, 



Mr. Kendall. Now, as a result of that, did you feel that some inde- 

 pendent investigation was necessary to determine what it was all 

 about ? 



Captain White. I did not. At some time previous to this, I had 

 some discussions with Colonel Cipolla, who was then the Air Force 

 installations representative, or later became the Air Force civil engi- 

 neer, with respect to some possible repair work that might be required 

 to the tower, and the colonel asked me if we would be interested in 

 acting as the design and construction agency for this work. Over 



