Five persons were charged with trespassing late Wednesday night (Dec. 14) after they climbed WETA’s 500-foot radio tower in Arlington, Va., in an attempt to BASE jump from the structure using parachutes. One, Kristin Stewart, 48, was injured after her parachute became snared in a tree. “Every single one of them has been charged with trespassing because they climbed the tower without the permission of WETA,” Crystal Nosal of Arlington County police told a local NBC reporter. BASE stands for buildings, antennas, spans (bridges) and earth, which represent common locations for the jumps.
WETA spokesperson Mary Stewart told Current that the station will be sending a crew to inspect the tower for any damage.