Accidents
Several cases occurred where the housings of wind turbines caught fire. As housings are normally out of the range of standard fire extinguishing equipment, it is nearly impossible to extinguish such fires on older turbine units which lack fire suppression systems. In several cases one or more blades were damaged or torn away. In 2010 70 mph (110 km/h; 61 kn) storm winds damaged some blades, prompting blade removal and inspection of all 25 wind turbines in Campo Indian Reservation in the US State of California. Several wind turbines also collapsed.
| Place | Date | Type | Nacelle height | Rotor dia. | Year built | Reason | Damage and casualties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellenstedt, Germany | October 19, 2002 | ||||||
| Schneebergerhof, Germany | December 20, 2003 | Vestas V80 | 80 m | ||||
| Wasco, Oregon, USA | August 25, 2007 | Siemens | Human error: turbine restarted while blades were locked in maximum wind-resistance mode | 1 worker killed, 1 injured | |||
| Stobart Mill, UK | December 30, 2007 | Vestas | 1982 | ||||
| Hornslet, Denmark | February 22, 2008 | Nordtank NKT 600-180 | 44.5 m | 43 m | 1996 | Brake failure | |
| Searsburg, Vermont, USA | October 16, 2008 | Zond Z-P40-FS | 1997 | Rotor blade collided with tower during strong wind and destroyed it | |||
| Altona, New York, USA | March 6, 2009 | GE Energy 1.5MW | Lightning likely | ||||
| Fenner, New York, USA | December 27, 2009 | GE Energy 1.5 MW | |||||
| Kirtorf, Germany | June 19, 2011 | DeWind D-6 | 68.5 m | 62 m | 2001 | ||
| Ayrshire, Scotland | December 8, 2011 | Vestas V80 2MW |
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