Titan TORNADO II accident near Windom, Minnesota, February 18, 2023
On February 18, 2023 at about 6:15 pm local time, a 2007 Titan TORNADO II, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N9168P, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Windom, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fatigue failure of the right landing gear leg that resulted in its separation from the airplane during takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 18, 2023 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Windom, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Titan TORNADO II, built 2007, amateur-built · all TORNADO IIs on the register
- Registration
- N9168P · registry record · serial D00912COHK0376
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that while taking off on a frozen lake with hard-packed snow, the right main landing gear separated from the airplane. He continued the takeoff and landed the airplane without further incident on a snow-covered lake near his home. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer due to impact from the right main landing gear. A metallurgical examination of the right main landing gear leg assembly revealed that bilateral fatigue cracks originated from the inner wall of a cross-drilled hole near the right gear leg socket. Eventually, overload and bending stresses in the direction of the fatigue cracks resulted in the right gear leg separating. It was unclear why the hole was drilled. There is an identical hole in the same spot on the left landing gear leg.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,248.2 hours in all; 1,069.6 in this make and model; 10.4 in the last 90 days; 4.1 in the last 30 days; 1,198 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,212.8 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, October 1, 2022; 14.7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 ULS (piston); 1,212 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NA Fredenberg Township MN at 6:15 pm
- Destination: KCOQ Cloquet MN
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 12:15 pm from KCOQ, 7 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KCOQ 181815Z AUTO 21009KT 10SM CLR M01/M06 A2996 RMK AO2 TSNO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN23LA110.