A C-402 pilot forgot to turn the alternators on after engine start because of a procedural change to...

Narrative:

Arriving at an airport on a short IFR flight I had been cleared for the visual approach to runway 19. Approach mentioned that they had lost my mode C; so I tried resetting the transponder without success. I contacted the tower and was cleared to make the left base to 19. Seconds after receiving that transmission my radios went dark. Realizing that I had a total electrical failure; I reverted to non-radio procedures and made an upwind toward the tower so I could observe the light signals. As I was cranking the gear down I received the solid green light and entered a left downwind for 19 and completed the circuit for an uneventful landing on 19. During the taxi to the FBO I was able to energize the emergency circuit; regaining my radios and contacted ground. They took my phone number and I proceeded to park the plane.this incident was caused by my failure to turn on both alternators after engine start; which caused the battery to run down. At the urging of one of our mechanics; I had recently adopted the new practice of turning on the alternators after starting each engine; presumably to preserve the alternators. Perhaps I was tired and/or distracted; but I totally failed to comply with my new checklist/flow routine. Furthermore; every pilot is or should be on edge about navigating through [busy] airspace. Consequently; I was distracted from my normal full cockpit scan; by which I would have quickly noticed a discharging battery and the faulty position of both alternator switches.lessons learned:1. Go back to turning on both alternator switches along with battery switch for engine starts; coinciding with poh/afm guidance; by the way.2. Close adherence to checklist items.3. Concentrate on full cockpit scan; especially in busy; complicated airspace.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C-402 Pilot forgot to turn the alternators ON after engine start because of a procedural change to leave them off until after engine start and when nearing his destination lost all electrical power with dead batteries. He discovered his error after landing and establish communications with ATC.

Narrative: Arriving at an airport on a short IFR flight I had been cleared for the visual approach to runway 19. Approach mentioned that they had lost my Mode C; so I tried resetting the transponder without success. I contacted the Tower and was cleared to make the left base to 19. Seconds after receiving that transmission my radios went dark. Realizing that I had a total electrical failure; I reverted to non-radio procedures and made an upwind toward the Tower so I could observe the light signals. As I was cranking the gear down I received the solid green light and entered a left downwind for 19 and completed the circuit for an uneventful landing on 19. During the taxi to the FBO I was able to energize the emergency circuit; regaining my radios and contacted ground. They took my phone number and I proceeded to park the plane.This incident was caused by my failure to turn on both alternators after engine start; which caused the battery to run down. At the urging of one of our mechanics; I had recently adopted the new practice of turning on the alternators after starting each engine; presumably to preserve the alternators. Perhaps I was tired and/or distracted; but I totally failed to comply with my new checklist/flow routine. Furthermore; every pilot is or should be on edge about navigating through [busy] airspace. Consequently; I was distracted from my normal full cockpit scan; by which I would have quickly noticed a discharging battery and the faulty position of both alternator switches.Lessons learned:1. Go back to turning on both alternator switches along with battery switch for engine starts; coinciding with POH/AFM guidance; by the way.2. Close adherence to checklist items.3. Concentrate on full cockpit scan; especially in busy; complicated airspace.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1263158
Time
Date	201505
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 402/402C/B379 Businessliner/Utiliner
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Final Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Switch
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 7100 Flight Crew Type 1500
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown

A C-402 pilot forgot to turn the alternators on after engine start because of a procedural change to leave them off until after engine start and when nearing his destination lost all electrical power with dead batteries. He discovered his error after landing and establish communications with ATC.