Wind turbine blade detaches, falls 300 feet into Plymouth cranberry bog
A massive blade detached from a wind turbine Friday afternoon, falling 300 feet down into a Plymouth cranberry bog, according to the Plymouth Fire Department.
Fire crews responded to Head of the Bay Road at approximately 2 p.m. after they received a call from a concerned resident who noticed that one of the three blades on a wind turbine near her home was suddenly missing.
Upon arrival, firefighters located the detached blade several hundred feet away from the base of the turbine.
No one was hurt, and fire officials said there is no danger to the public. The affected area is remote and surrounded by cranberry bogs, and no homes or occupied buildings were in the immediate vicinity of the fall.
Kerry Costello, who lives near the turbine, said she heard it making an usual noise the night before the blade detached.
“I heard last night, and my daughter noticed it too, it was kind of like moaning…But I’ve heard a slight moaning before, usually when its windy,” said Costello.
She said it was midday Friday when she eventually walked out to Head of the Bay Road to see what was going on.
“I heard like a loud boom, and then I heard, kind of like a crunch. I didn’t see it but I grabbed my purse, grabbed my dog, and ran out the door in my bathrobe,” she said. “I came right out and was shocked to see a blade right in the middle of the cranberry bog.”
— Keke Vencill details other times similar turbine issues have happened —
“We heard this loud rumble, felt like a mini earthquake and before that I heard a squeal, almost sounded like ship going through the canal,” said David Daylor, who lives near the turbine. “There’s always been safety concerns and this is our worst fear.”
Costello said she’s grateful the blade didn’t land any closer to her home.
“I’m still pretty shaken up because my kid’s room is right there. I was literally in my room,” said Costello. “I was talking to my landlord, who’s out of state, and said, ‘will they make sure they make it’s safe before they turn it back on? Because I’m still shaking.’ He said, ‘they have to. This is a very serious situation.'”
According to the maintenance company responsible for the wind turbine, the turbine automatically entered a fail-safe mode and shut down completely after the blade came off. The company said it is currently conducting inspections to determine the cause of the detachment.
The company has closed off the area, and said it is arranging for contractors to remove the blade and clean up the scene.
The Plymouth Fire Department notified the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) about the incident, as well as the Town of Plymouth’s Inspectional Services Department.
