Harnesses meeting TSO C-167 would not have prevented the NYC tragedy. The TSO does nothing to define standards for quick release mechanisms. That is the subject of FAA Order 8900.4, published after and in response to the NYC event.
8900.4 does not require a TSO'd harness, only an FAA "approved" harness. 8900.4 does require such a harness have a quick release system that is "FAA approved". Application for approval is made to the Office of Safety Standards who then issue an LOA if approved. Thus it would potentially be possible to use a very wide variety of harnesses, not necessarily only those that meet the TSO, although no doubt meeting the TSO would undoubtedly be helpful
It's worth noting that 9800.4 does not apply to FAA Part 133 HEC or public op's. It would appear that the FAA figures those op's already know what they are doing
BREAK
KiwiNedNZ I am curious what sort of quick release products you are using (and mind you this is strictly curiosity, I am not in the HEC or shoe-selfie business!) All of the ones I've seen advertised rely on a snap shackle mechanism. Having extensive maritime experience with snap shackles, I would NEVER trust such a mechanism for safety of life! When going aloft (up a mast) to fix something we always tied in to the halyard and never trusted the snap shackle alone (and sometimes used two halyards). I had heard rumors of a device based on the ubiquitous 3-ring release used in skydiving--that I would trust implicitly (I'm also a skydiver). But not a snap shackle, particularly one with an easily snag-able handle or lanyard.