Arion Aircraft Llc Lightning LS-1 accident near Mount Pleasant, SC
On April 10, 2020, an Arion Aircraft Llc Lightning LS-1 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Mount Pleasant, SC. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 10, 2020
- Place
- Mount Pleasant, SC
- Aircraft
- Arion Aircraft Llc Lightning LS-1 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.885°N, 79.776°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200410X81131
Official records · ERA20LA150
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Communications Summary: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
On April 9, 2020, about 2100 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Arion Aircraft LLC Lightning LS-1 airplane, N81DJ, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mount Pleasant Regional Airport-Faison Field (LRO), Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The pilot and the flight instructor were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The student pilot, who had recently purchased the airplane, and the flight instructor departed Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, about 2011 and flew to LRO, about 65 nautical miles away. A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control (ATC) communications and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data revealed that ATC cleared the pilot for takeoff on Runway 36 and instructed him to fly runway heading. The pilot acknowledged by reading back the clearance correctly. At 2013, the controller handed off the flight to departure control and the pilot reported climbing out of 600 ft mean sea level (MSL). The airplane was radar identified by the controller who subsequently issued a left turn on course and instructed the pilot to maintain visual flight rules (VFR), which was acknowledged. At 2045, ATC instructed the pilot to maintain VFR at 3,000 ft. While en route at 3,000 ft, the pilot requested a descent into LRO at 2051, which ATC acknowledged, and authorized a VFR descent at the pilot’s discretion. The pilot advised the controller that they would be executing a touch-and-go at LRO before flyin
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees at the end of the runway due to spatial disorientation during initial climb in dark night conditions. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate monitoring, which did not identify and prevent the descent and subsequent collision with trees.
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Browse: South Carolina
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
