Amateur-built Teratorn accident near Elbow Lake, Minnesota, August 2, 2003
On August 2, 2003 at about 11:30 am local time, a amateur-built Teratorn, registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Elbow Lake, Minnesota. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
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.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 2, 2003 · about 11:30 am local time
- Place
- Elbow Lake, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Teratorn
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The unregistered two-place airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain. The non-instrument rated pilot was fatally injured. The accident pilot was told by his wife prior to the flight that the weather conditions at the destination were foggy. The accident pilot replied to his wife that he could see the tops of the trees "and he was going to fly low and follow the rail road tracks." The Sheriff's report stated the pilot's brother said that "it was too foggy to be flying. The only reason he was flying was to look for [the accident pilot,] his brother."
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 46 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 532 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVY Elbow Lake MN at 11:00 am
- Destination: Y63 Elbow Lake MN
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 350° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 11:35 am from FFM, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under UNREG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.