August 28, 2007
Oregon

Family, friends mourn wind farm worker killed in collapse

The Sherman County wind farm where one man was killed and another injured Saturday when a wind turbine collapsed was cited for two violations just a few months ago, officials said Monday.

Chadd Bryce Mitchell, 35, was killed in the accident.

Mitchell was a father of three who had been working at the farm since July 10th.

“He was the myth, the man, the legend. The leader of the family. He was the most respectful human in the world, never did anything but help other people. His family loves him more than anything in the world,” said brother Bradd Mitchell.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued two minor citations to Klondike Wind Farms in May. One was regarding the farm’s lack of a formal safety committee. The other citation had to do with stairs that were too high.

Mitchell and another man had been working on a non-operational turbine at the Klondike Wind Farms east of Wasco, Oregon.

Officials said Mitchell, who was at the top of the turbine, was killed when it buckled. The second man had to be rescued from the barrel of the collapsed structure. He was taken to an area hospital where his condition was unknown.

OSHA was investigating the cause of the collapse.

A team of engineers from Finland was expected to investigate the site.

Slideshow: Collapsed turbine

August 27, 2007

By KGW Staff

kgw.com


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/08/28/family-friends-mourn-wind-farm-worker-killed-in-collapse/