Henry L Berrier Jr ARION LIGHTNING LS-1 N6688S

Summary

On 7 April 2022 at about 17:10 local time, a Henry L Berrier Jr ARION LIGHTNING LS-1 registered N6688S was involved in an accident near Mountain City, Tennessee, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 April 2022 at 17:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Mountain City, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Johnson County Airport (6A4)

Coordinates

36.4178, -81.8251

Aircraft

Henry L Berrier Jr ARION LIGHTNING LS-1

Registration

N6688S

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

Unknown → Beckley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA186

1 person was seriously injured.

A total loss of engine power due to intermittent operation of both the engine-driven fuel pump and the electric boost pump. Contributing was the pilot’s delay in rejecting the takeoff, after the initial loss of engine power, which resulted in a collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The amateur-built airplane was assembled from a kit about 10 years prior to the accident and had only been flown about 250 hours during those 10 years. After performing a preflight inspection and noting no anomalies, the pilot proceeded to take off from a 4,498-ft-long asphalt runway. During takeoff, the engine experienced a partial loss of power at 70 knots, about midfield. The pilot was not sure that he could land on the remaining runway and immediately turned the right fuel tank to on and the engine rpm increased significantly. Within seconds, the engine lost total power, and the pilot elected to keep the airplane on the runway heading to clear several obstacles at the end of the runway. The pilot attempted a forced landing in a field but pulled up to clear a fence. The airplane subsequently landed hard in the field and collided with a creek bed. The pilot stated that, in retrospect, he should have rejected the takeoff during the initial partial loss of engine power. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the diaphragm return spring on the engine side of the diaphragm was corroded. Additionally, the electric boost pump’s electrical wire was disconnected from the cockpit pump switch and the pump switch’s spade connector was loose. When the wire was reconnected, the spade connector had to be wiggled to get the pump to activate. Once activated, it pumped normally. Given this information, it is likely neither fuel pump was able to provide adequate fuel flow to the engine to sustain normal operation during the takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.