Close Call

[Adam Weiss]

Had a close call I thought I'd share...as always, please don't bash...just sharing and hope it will help someone.

Had some low ceilings the other night, and since temperatures were finally warm enough not to have icing, I thought I'd go shoot some approaches in actual. The wife likes to fly, so she wanted to come with me.

I had the first indication of a problem during runup. I always use checklists, and when I got to voltage, I saw 12V. I thought that was weird. When charging, I usually see 14V. But I didn't put 2+2 together...since it was night and I had all my lights on, I thought that may have been the difference. Plus it's a 12V system, right?

Got IFR clearance and took off into the soup at night.
Was going to do a couple approaches and come back.
Getting vectors en route to first IAF, and I notice voltage is now 10V.
Now I finally realize there's a problem.
I notified ATC I had an electrical problem, and please vector me to the approach ASAP.
ATC was really good...and helped me out.

Got down through the soup...popped out around 700 AGL, and voltage was down to 8.5V.
Lost radios at this point, and landed in the dark...no landing/taxi lights.
Fortunately, runway lights were on, but not taxiway.
Called up via phone to close IFR.

Was reasonably calm (on the outside) throughout, so the wife was not too freaked out.
Root cause: wire broke off alternator.

Big takeaway...on my checklist now, I don't just say, "Voltage: check". I say, "Voltage: 14V".

I know I got lucky...

 

[frfly172]

Luck was on your side. Glad your flight ended well.

 

[Shepherd]

Learn and live.
Can't beat that combination.

 

[Timbeck2]

Exactly why I got a voltage/amp gauge to replace Piper's "reasonable estimate" factory gauge. I was flying down to Port Aransas, TX and noticed the radio didn't sound right when I was announcing at my first fuel stop. Landed, fueled up and all I got was a "click" when I tried to start the engine. Dead battery.

Same cause - broken wire from alternator.

 

[bcool]

The old broken alternator wire got me, too, on an IFR flight last summer. Fortunately, I wasn't in IMC conditions so I cancelled and told the controller I was going to continue on to my destination NORDO.

After I landed a police car showed up to check on me...the controller called ahead to make sure I got there OK

 

[MauleSkinner]

The desire to get into the air can mask a lot of things. Don’t just learn the lesson for voltage...for anything that’s different, don’t “justify”...verify.

 

[Adam Weiss]

The desire to get into the air can mask a lot of things. Don’t just learn the lesson for voltage...for anything that’s different, don’t “justify”...verify.

You're absolutely right. This was one of my takeaways for sure.

 

[Thumper]

Thanks for writing this up, Adam. I now make it a practice to put "Pilot Cell xxx.xxx.xxxx" in the remarks section of my flight plan. I made that decision after having an experience similar to you, but in VFR conditions. I also added a handheld with an external antennae jack just so I can at least turn on the runway lights as needed. Life is also easier now that telephone numbers for approach/center are in foreflight. You are fortunate to have a co-pilot who loves to fly. Mine, not so much....

 

[Ghery]

I was climbing out of KPUW a number of years ago when the high voltage light in the panel of the club's 182 flashed, followed by the ammeter showing a discharge. I shed loads, went through the reset checklist and everything came back. Then my wife asked what would have happened if the reset didn't work. I told her that we simply would have returned to KPUW and had a mechanic look at it. Sure like magnetos for ignition. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[PaulS]

Only mistake I see is not realizing that 12V is no Bueno with the engine running and alternator on. You'll never make that mistake again, nice work.

 

[DGlaeser]

I highly recommend an active Low Voltage annunciator - especially for IFR aircraft! There are devices you can buy that plug into the cigarette lighter port to do this - flash and/or sound to get your attention. Most older planes do not have anything - you have to notice the voltage or ammeter - as you did.
If the alternator fails in flight, and you know about it IMMEDIATELY, you have time to shed load (turn off stuff you really don't need at the moment) and get on the ground - exactly what you did (good job by the way!).

 

[smv]

Big takeaway...on my checklist now, I don't just say, "Voltage: check". I say, "Voltage: 14V".

Which brings up a point I try to drive home I try to drive home with students.

Every checklist item should be answered with the desired condition, not just "Check".

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

An interesting exercise is to think about what your backup plan would be, had you not gotten below the clouds as the last electron exited stage right.
Fuel load?
Nearest good vfr?
Handheld navigating devices?
Handheld radio?
What is cell reception like, where you are and airborne?

 

[kyleb]

Root cause: wire broke off alternator.

Big takeaway...on my checklist now, I don't just say, "Voltage: check". I say, "Voltage: 14V".

I know I got lucky...

I had exactly the same failure 6 weeks ago. I was sitting in a nearby FBO talking with a friend who was complaining that the only problems he ever had with his 2nd hand RV-8 was with various electrical bugs. I offered that in 19 years, I'd never had any problems with the electricals on my RV-6. On the flight home, I noticed the voltmeter was showing 12 (should be ~14) and the ammeter was showing a discharge. I shut down everything electrical, flew home and landed. Later, I pulled the cowl and found the lug on the "fat" alternator wire had broken.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

In my view a handheld is absolutely required for IFR flight, especially at night. I prefer to avoid single points of failure ending in a fair probability of death.

 

[sarangan]

Had a close call I thought I'd share...as always, please don't bash...just sharing and hope it will help someone.

Had some low ceilings the other night, and since temperatures were finally warm enough not to have icing, I thought I'd go shoot some approaches in actual. The wife likes to fly, so she wanted to come with me.

I had the first indication of a problem during runup. I always use checklists, and when I got to voltage, I saw 12V. I thought that was weird. When charging, I usually see 14V. But I didn't put 2+2 together...since it was night and I had all my lights on, I thought that may have been the difference. Plus it's a 12V system, right?

Got IFR clearance and took off into the soup at night.
Was going to do a couple approaches and come back.
Getting vectors en route to first IAF, and I notice voltage is now 10V.
Now I finally realize there's a problem.
I notified ATC I had an electrical problem, and please vector me to the approach ASAP.
ATC was really good...and helped me out.

Got down through the soup...popped out around 700 AGL, and voltage was down to 8.5V.
Lost radios at this point, and landed in the dark...no landing/taxi lights.
Fortunately, runway lights were on, but not taxiway.
Called up via phone to close IFR.

Was reasonably calm (on the outside) throughout, so the wife was not too freaked out.
Root cause: wire broke off alternator.

Big takeaway...on my checklist now, I don't just say, "Voltage: check". I say, "Voltage: 14V".

I know I got lucky...

IMC at night with no electrical can be deadly. I am glad everything worked out. Thanks for sharing the story.

Just curious, do you not have an alternator warning light?

 

[Dan Thomas]

I am constantly amazed at the frequency of alternator failures and the causes thereof. It's so totally unnecessary. So many mechanics follw FAR42 Appendix D as their inspection checklist, and it's totally inadequate. The manufacturer's service manuals offer far more detail, and for good reason. Look at this:



This shows up on every Cessna checklist and has for 60 years or more. Wires that are fraying, inadequately restrained, cracking terminal lugs, loose attaching hardware, lots of things to check. There's another entry elsewhere to inspect the voltage regulator for security and connections as well. The item for alternator brushes above is relevant, too, and the "I" in the "years" column takes you to the notes at the end of the checklist sheets, where "I" calls for a 500 hour inspection interval. I can't count the number of times I've found alternator wiring completely shot and about to fail, left that way by previous mechanics, sometimes just a few flight hours previous. This stuff doesn't fail suddenly; it's a process of decay, fatigue and neglect.

Tell your mechanics to get the manuals and use them. Who wants to risk an alternator failure at night? The risks due to inadequate checking are far greater than the risk of the alternator suddenly packing up for no good reason. A 500-hour brush inspection also gives a chance to see that the alternator's bearings are still good, and simply taking the wiring off to take the alternator off the engine can expose some bad stuff.

 

[Dan Thomas]

IMC at night with no electrical can be deadly. I am glad everything worked out. Thanks for sharing the story.

Just curious, do you not have an alternator warning light?

The old generators had light that would come on when output voltage fell off, but alternators and their regulators were adapted from automobiles, where the alternator regulator was switched on by a small signal from the alternator's stator junction. In airplanes we need some means of shutting the alternator off manually, so the ALT switch does that. The result is that the high or low voltage light doesn't come on unless the ALT switch is turned off either manually of if the overvolt sensor does it. It will not light up if the brushes fail or the belt breaks or the wiring falls off or even if the alternator falls off the airplane altogether. Newer (!) airplanes, post 1978/79 or so, used electronic ACUs that would fire the light if the output voltage fell off, but we still fly many thousands of older airplanes without such stuff.

 

[Adam Weiss]

IMC at night with no electrical can be deadly. I am glad everything worked out. Thanks for sharing the story.

Just curious, do you not have an alternator warning light?

I don’t.

 

[Larry in TN]

You can test your alternator, on many airplanes, by starting with only the battery switch on then watching the volt meter, and ammeter if installed, as you turn the alternator on after engine start. That way you're not depending on the voltmeter accurately displaying the difference between ~12v and ~14v.

 

[chemgeek]

Good catch to react immediately and take emergency action. Some questions to ponder for next time (if you have not addressed already now or in the past):

• Handheld com on board?
• Headlamp or visor lamp on board and ready for night flight?
• Load shedding immediately upon discovery of charging failure?

I've done a fair bit of night XC and don't fly without backup com and lighting. I use a visor light continuously during night IFR and have a second one ready in the top pocket of my flight bag. They are small and cheap.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Adam Weiss]

Good catch to react immediately and take emergency action. Some questions to ponder for next time (if you have not addressed already now or in the past):

• Handheld com on board?
• Headlamp or visor lamp on board and ready for night flight?
• Load shedding immediately upon discovery of charging failure?

I've done a fair bit of night XC and don't fly without backup com and lighting. I use a visor light continuously during night IFR and have a second one ready in the top pocket of my flight bag. They are small and cheap.

Thanks for sharing.

All good questions, and I reflected on all of them.
I have a handheld...in my hangar.
It did me no good. Now it’s in my plane.
I had a headlamp on already, so that helped a ton.
I did shed what I could, but voltage was dropping rapidly.

 

[Dan Thomas]

You can test your alternator, on many airplanes, by starting with only the battery switch on then watching the volt meter, and ammeter if installed, as you turn the alternator on after engine start. That way you're not depending on the voltmeter accurately displaying the difference between ~12v and ~14v.

That just makes sure that the alternator is working before the flight. It doesn't guarantee that it won't fail during the flight.

 

[Ryan F.]

Thanks for sharing. Not easy when the possibility for criticism exists.

Good lesson learned and thankfully the worst for you is just having to wrestle with "what could have been." You paid it forward by sharing what you experienced, and you're going to be a better pilot going forward for having gone through it.

 

[Jeff767]

With a proper functioning alternator you should see 14.2 volts. 13.6 to 14.6 is generally a acceptable range. With just the battery online you should see 12.8 volts. At 12.2 Volts your battery is 50% discharged and with lead acid or gel cell batteries damage is occurring to the battery via permanently lost capacity.

 

[Larry in TN]

That just makes sure that the alternator is working before the flight. It doesn't guarantee that it won't fail during the flight.

Nothing guarantees that anything won't fail during flight.

The issue here was that Adam unknowingly took off with something already inoperative. I was pointing out a way that the operation of that item can be verified prior to takeoff.

 

[luvflyin]

Had a close call I thought I'd share...as always, please don't bash...just sharing and hope it will help someone.

Had some low ceilings the other night, and since temperatures were finally warm enough not to have icing, I thought I'd go shoot some approaches in actual. The wife likes to fly, so she wanted to come with me.

I had the first indication of a problem during runup. I always use checklists, and when I got to voltage, I saw 12V. I thought that was weird. When charging, I usually see 14V. But I didn't put 2+2 together...since it was night and I had all my lights on, I thought that may have been the difference. Plus it's a 12V system, right?

Got IFR clearance and took off into the soup at night.
Was going to do a couple approaches and come back.
Getting vectors en route to first IAF, and I notice voltage is now 10V.
Now I finally realize there's a problem.
I notified ATC I had an electrical problem, and please vector me to the approach ASAP.
ATC was really good...and helped me out.

Got down through the soup...popped out around 700 AGL, and voltage was down to 8.5V.
Lost radios at this point, and landed in the dark...no landing/taxi lights.
Fortunately, runway lights were on, but not taxiway.
Called up via phone to close IFR.

Was reasonably calm (on the outside) throughout, so the wife was not too freaked out.
Root cause: wire broke off alternator.

Big takeaway...on my checklist now, I don't just say, "Voltage: check". I say, "Voltage: 14V".

I know I got lucky...

Thanks for confessing and sharing. Reminded me of the time a few years ago I did something similar. Night, weather. Carb heat check didn’t seem right. Not the usual drop of RPM. But some. Well, there’s some heat getting through, let’s go. A&P said a couple days later the thingamjig, doohickey or what ever, was just hangin on by a thread. Also reminded me of a song.

 

[chemgeek]

All good questions, and I reflected on all of them.
I have a handheld...in my hangar.
It did me no good. Now it’s in my plane.
I had a headlamp on already, so that helped a ton.
I did shed what I could, but voltage was dropping rapidly.

Sounds like you were reasonably well prepared for an electrical emergency. If the battery was at 12.0 V it was actually at almost zero percent capacity. A fully charged lead acid battery should read 12.8 volts with no load.

 

[DaleB]

If there is one thing I have learned from flying, it is that ANY instance of saying, “That’s weird” is a no-go. I’ve never once had occasion to say that and NOT found something wrong. The first time very nearly killed me and another guy (he was flying, I wasn’t even a pilot yet). Just my own personal experience.

 

[Adam Weiss]

If there is one thing I have learned from flying, it is that ANY instance of saying, “That’s weird” is a no-go. I’ve never once had occasion to say that and NOT found something wrong. The first time very nearly killed me and another guy (he was flying, I wasn’t even a pilot yet). Just my own personal experience.

Agreed.

 

[brcase]

An interesting exercise is to think about what your backup plan would be, had you not gotten below the clouds as the last electron exited stage right.
Fuel load?
Nearest good vfr?
Handheld navigating devices?
Handheld radio?
What is cell reception like, where you are and airborne?