Teratorn accident near Elbow Lake, MN
On August 2, 2003, a Teratorn (airplane) was involved in an accident near Elbow Lake, MN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 2, 2003
- Place
- Elbow Lake, MN
- Aircraft
- Teratorn · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 45.986°N, 95.992°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030807X01282
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 2, 2003, about 0630 central daylight time, an unregistered Teratorn two-place airplane, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain about three quarters of a mile west of the Elbow Lake Municipal Airport (Y63), near Elbow Lake, Minnesota. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Elbow Lake, Minnesota, about 0600, and was en route to Y63 at the time of the accident. The Grant County Sheriff's report stated that prior to the flight the pilot's wife told the accident pilot that the weather conditions at Elbow Lake Airport were foggy. The report said that the accident pilot replied that he could see the tops of the trees "and he was going to fly low and follow the rail road tracks into Elbow Lake." The Grant County Sheriff's report stated: [The accident pilot's brother] told me that he had flown from Fergus Falls to Elbow Lake this morning looking for his brother's plane which had not arrived at the Elbow Lake Airport. ... [He] then called [his brother's wife] and ... asked what direction [the accident pilot] was taking to get to the airport. [She] said that he was following the train tracks east that come from Wendell to Elbow Lake. [He] then flew over the railroad tracks and followed them east to Elbow Lake and found his brother's plane in the wheat field. ... [He] said that it was too foggy to be flying. The only reason he was fl
Probable cause
The pilot's intentional flight into known fog and failure to maintain aircraft control during cruise flight. A factor was the fog, and the low altitude flight.
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Browse: Minnesota
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
