Lightning Avion Eab ARION LIGHTNING N1XF

Summary

On 26 February 2020 at about 23:45 local time, a Lightning Avion Eab ARION LIGHTNING registered N1XF was involved in an accident near Jerome, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 February 2020 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Jerome, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

42.7597, -114.3717

Aircraft

Lightning Avion Eab ARION LIGHTNING

Registration

N1XF

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Worland → Gooding

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA096

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s mismanagement of fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation and the pilot’s loss of airplane control during an emergency descent, which resulted in a stall and subsequent impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he recently purchased the airplane and experienced inaccurate right fuel gauge readings, so he used a fuel totalizer on the airplane’s instrumentation and conducted frequent fuel calculations. About 24 miles from his destination, he intentionally ran the right fuel tank empty and the engine sputtered and quit. He turned off the right fuel tank selector and turned on the left fuel tank selector. The engine started again for several seconds then it sputtered again. He adjusted the fuel selectors several times, but to no avail. Unable to make the airport, he initiated an off-field landing. As the airplane descended, the pilot observed several obstacles. As he made a left turn to avoid them, the left wing stalled, and the airplane impacted the ground nose down. The aft fuselage and wings sustained substantial damage. As the pilot exited the airplane, he noted two streams of fuel exiting the damaged left wingtip. During recovery, limited to no fuel was removed from the airplane, and the smell of fuel was not noted at the accident site. There was nothing abnormal noted with the fuel system as the airplane was disassembled and prepared for transport. During the emergency descent following a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, the pilot was maneuvering the airplane in a left-wing low attitude, when it stalled and subsequently collided with the ground left wing first. The loss of engine power and the subsequent forced landing likely could have been prevented had the pilot switched fuel tanks prior to depleting the right fuel tank of fuel.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.