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PA-28 instructor reported an alternator failure during a night flight that resulted in a precautionary landing.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1691220 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201910 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | AC Generator/Alternator |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Instructor |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 650 Flight Crew Type 500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
Performing a night cross country flight with a student pilot. 'Alternator inoperative' annunciator illuminated and ammeter displayed after takeoff. Ip (instructor pilot) performed checklist by noting the position of the circuit breaker - in. Ip turned alternator switch off; pulled circuit breaker and then reset; turned alternator switch back to the 'on' position and annunciator was extinguished. Ip radioed tower that aircraft had alternator failure indications and would like to return to ZZZ. As the radio call was being made 'alternator inoperative' annunciator illuminated again. Ip told tower that aircraft X would like to land and park the aircraft at the FBO. Tower acknowledged and offered any assistance. Conditions were unlimited VMC at night. Ip completed the master checklist and opted to 'land as soon as practical' as stated in the note for alternator failure without standby. Aircraft X was also practicing landings at ZZZ and ip asked them to pick up the ip and student at the FBO once they were completed with their training and had burned off fuel to accommodate added weight. This conversation of aeronautical decision making was performed over ZZZ tower frequency and should have been recorded. Ip texted chief instructor; chief mechanic; and chief dispatcher to notify them of the situation and let them know that ip was leaving aircraft X at the FBO at ZZZ overnight to be retrieved in day VMC. No response or acknowledgment was received until the next day.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: PA-28 instructor reported an alternator failure during a night flight that resulted in a precautionary landing.
Narrative: Performing a night cross country flight with a student pilot. 'Alternator INOP' annunciator illuminated and ammeter displayed after takeoff. IP (Instructor Pilot) performed checklist by noting the position of the circuit breaker - In. IP turned alternator switch off; pulled circuit breaker and then reset; turned alternator switch back to the 'on' position and annunciator was extinguished. IP radioed Tower that aircraft had alternator failure indications and would like to return to ZZZ. As the radio call was being made 'Alternator INOP' annunciator illuminated again. IP told Tower that Aircraft X would like to land and park the aircraft at the FBO. Tower acknowledged and offered any assistance. Conditions were unlimited VMC at night. IP completed the Master Checklist and opted to 'land as soon as practical' as stated in the NOTE for ALTERNATOR FAILURE WITHOUT STANDBY. Aircraft X was also practicing landings at ZZZ and IP asked them to pick up the IP and Student at the FBO once they were completed with their training and had burned off fuel to accommodate added weight. This conversation of Aeronautical Decision Making was performed over ZZZ Tower frequency and should have been recorded. IP texted Chief Instructor; Chief Mechanic; and Chief Dispatcher to notify them of the situation and let them know that IP was leaving Aircraft X at the FBO at ZZZ overnight to be retrieved in Day VMC. No response or acknowledgment was received until the next day.
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.