PENNSYLVANIA Windmill starts moving, strikes crane, kills man

The victim had just finished his work on the windmill.
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) -- A windmill unexpectedly started moving and one of its blades struck a crane, sending a worker falling 60 feet to his death, authorities said.
Niels Otto Anderson Sjolander, 52, of Denmark was pronounced dead Monday morning at the bottom of a windmill near Meyersdale, said Somerset County Coroner Wallace E. Miller.
Sjolander had finished working on the windmill and was being lowered in a basket held by the crane when the blades started moving and broke the arm of the crane. The basket tumbled to the ground with Sjolander inside.
"He just came straight down. You could tell he was trying to brace for the impact," Miller said. "It would be like being stuck in an elevator shaft and trying to jump before it hits the floor. It's not going to help because the bodies are moving so fast."
Investigation
Sjolander was working for Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems A/S, which had contracted with Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL Energy to repair turbines at FPL's wind farm in Summit Township, about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Vestas Americas, a subsidiary based in Portland, Ore., planned to send a crew to investigate the accident later this week, said Thomas Carbone, president of the company.
"These things just don't happen," Carbone said. "We want to understand what caused the accident, so we can learn from it and prevent it from ever happening again." The company won't try similar repairs until the investigation is complete, Carbone said.
FPL Energy will also be investigating, according to a spokeswoman.