Fatal fall during onshore wind turbine construction, inquiry findings on rescue arrangements and equipment

What happened

In March 2017 a worker died following a fall during the construction phase of an onshore wind farm in Scotland. A Fatal Accident Inquiry was held under the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc (Scotland) Act 2016 and the Sheriff's determination was issued in December 2024. The inquiry examined the circumstances of the death, the rescue response and the equipment available on site. The determination made recommendations directed at the principal contractor, the construction subcontractor and the turbine manufacturer, covering three areas: (1) joint health and safety drills involving all contractors and subcontractors, focused on rescue from height; (2) availability of basket stretchers or spinal boards capable of keeping a casualty horizontal during a rescue from height; and (3) consideration of technology to identify when a person has disconnected from a fall arrest system and to provide an audible or visual warning to colleagues. The national health and safety regulator subsequently issued public commentary encouraging industry-wide consideration of the recommendations.

Contributing factors

As stated in the determination, which is intended to identify lessons rather than apportion fault, the inquiry identified gaps in the rescue arrangements and equipment available at the time: (a) joint rescue drills involving all contractors operating on the site were not standard practice; (b) the stretcher equipment readily available may not have been suited to keeping a casualty horizontal during a rescue from height, noting that a vertical orientation during such a rescue can increase chest pressure with adverse physiological effects; and (c) technology capable of giving early warning of disconnection from a fall arrest system was not in use at the site at the time.

Lessons learned

1. Joint rescue drills must involve every contractor and subcontractor on site rather than separate drills by each firm.
2. Rescue stretchers must keep a casualty horizontal during descent from height to avoid increased chest pressure.
3. Fall arrest disconnection detection with immediate audible or visual warning should be assessed for use on site.

More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, detection and monitoring, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Cause of the fall
• Turbine model and age
• Cost of the incident
• Length of any project delay

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Source

scotcourts.gov.uk