Accident Overview
On February 18, 2023, about 1215 central standard time, a Titan Tornado II, registration N9168P, was substantially damaged during an accident near Windom, Minnesota. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was operated as a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Sequence of Events
The pilot departed from Cloquet Airport (COQ) near Cloquet, Minnesota, and flew south to Fish Lake, near Windom, to attend an event. After the event, the pilot taxied to an area of the lake where the snow was described as "hardpacked with no bumps, ruts, or [snow] chunks visible" for takeoff. Upon reaching rotation speed, the right main landing gear leg sheared off and struck the vertical stabilizer. The pilot maintained control using aileron and safely became airborne. He then flew back to COQ and informed Duluth Air Route Traffic Control Center of his intention to land on Big Lake, about five miles west of COQ, to avoid further damage from landing on asphalt. During the landing, the pilot applied full left aileron input and touched down on the left main landing gear wheel first, followed by the nosewheel. The right wing dropped and slid along the ice. He countered with left rudder, spun 90° to the right, and came to a full upright stop.
Postaccident Examination
Examination revealed substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer from the impact of the separated right gear leg. The right gear leg had detached from near the fuselage gear leg socket. Investigators found bilateral fatigue cracks originating from the inner wall of a cross-drilled hole near the socket. Overload and bending stresses in the direction of the fatigue cracks led to the separation of the right gear leg. An identical hole was present in each landing gear strut; its purpose is unknown. The pilot noted that the hole on the right gear leg was covered by a zip tie used to secure the brake line.