Lightning Avion Eab LLC Arion Lightning accident near Jerome, Idaho, February 26, 2020
On February 26, 2020 at about 11:45 pm local time, a 2012 Lightning Avion Eab LLC Arion Lightning, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N1XF, was substantially damaged in an accident during emergency descent near Jerome, Idaho. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
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.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 26, 2020 · about 11:45 pm local time
- Place
- Jerome, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lightning Avion Eab LLC Arion Lightning, built 2012, amateur-built
- Registration
- N1XF · no longer on the register · serial 114
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
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.
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
- Loss of control in flight during emergency descent defining event
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during emergency descent
- Fuel starvation during enroute
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid management
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 550 hours in all; 13 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 503 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 25, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 117 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, February 2, 2020; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,525 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jabriu 3300 Gen 4 (piston); 23 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WRL Worland WY at 8:15 pm
- Destination: GNG Gooding ID
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 12,000 ft; scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.34 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from JER, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N1XF 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.