Wind turbine reported to have collapsed after a wind gust in Rostock, Germany

What happened

A published headline reported that a wind turbine collapsed after a wind gust in Rostock, Germany, and that video of the collapse had circulated. The article text could not be retrieved, so the site, the operator, any injuries and the exact cause are not known.

Contributing factors

The headline attributes the collapse to a wind gust. No independent account of the weather, the turbine condition or the failure mode is available.

Lessons learned

1. Treat a headline report of a turbine collapse as unconfirmed until an operator or an official source states what failed.
2. After high winds, inspect turbines for structural damage before returning them to service.
3. Keep a record of gust conditions and any video so a later check can test the reported trigger.

Source

latestly.com