Narrative:

I completed a thorough preflight and after my passenger and I boarded, attempted to start the aircraft and discovered a weak battery. I contacted the plane's owner and after discussing the situation, both agreed to have the FBO bring over a tug and using the tug's battery, jump start the plane. The plane immediately started and upon checking the ampmeter, noticed a positive rate of charge. After receiving the current ATIS, I contacted santa barbara approach and received my clearance. The santa barbara approach controller notified me that he was also monitoring the ground and tower frequencys and that I should proceed to runway 15R via taxiway B, crossing runway 25. As I taxied, I decided to turn on my landing lights since I had never departed sba at night. As I came upon runway 25, I lost power to communication #1 (panel mounted GPS/communication), followed by a squelching in the overhead speaker and a dimming of the lights in communication #2. Since the aircraft used a generator and the power draw is substantial with full electrical on, and that I had a weak battery, I turned off the landing lights and proceeded to the run-up area. The tower tried contacting me several times, but I couldn't respond due to the weak battery and loss of radios. Once at the run-up area, I took the RPM to 2000 RPM and within several seconds, full power returned to the aircraft. Again I checked the ampmeter and a positive charge was indicated. I completed my run-up checklist and contacted the tower, explained that I was ready for takeoff and that my loss of contact had been due to a weak battery. I was cleared by the tower for takeoff on runway 15R, whereby I proceeded to taxi, keeping my RPM up a bit and turned my landing lights back on to help me get to and down the runway. Once at runway 15R, I centered the aircraft on the runway, applied full power and proceeded with my takeoff. I rotated at approximately 80 mph and shortly afterward noticed that I had lost communication #1 again, but that communication #2 was functional. I turned off the landing lights thinking that once the generator had enough time, the battery would return to full power. Since a positive rate of climb was indicated and we were coming to the end of the runway, I proceeded to raise the landing gear by moving the gear lever from the down to the up position and heard the gear begin to raise. After a moment (maybe a second or two), the entire panel suddenly went dark and all lighting in and outside the aircraft went out. I donT know if the gear had completely retracted. I put the plane in a slight left turn to position myself on a left downwind pattern and continued to climb (because of a lack of external lighting I wanted to be above pattern altitude). Once I leveled out at 2500 ft, I took out my flashlight and checked all fuel levels, fuel pressure and electrical. I noticed that there was a negative reading on the ampmeter and began to turn off all non-essential electrical equipment (overhead lighting, panel lighting) and then checked the ampmeter again and there was still a negative reading. I notified my passenger that there was a problem and that I was going to try to fix it. I then turned off all electrical equipment and tried to lower the gear by moving the gear switch from the up to down position. Since nothing appeared to happen, I switched the gear indictor to the 'off' position and I finally got a flicker of lighting in communication #2 and the communication panel. I tried contacting the tower, but there wasn't enough power to communicate. I turned both instruments off and, checking the ampmeter once again, found a zero draw. I then checked all breakers and found they were in. At this point I was hoping that the generator would kick in and give me enough power to contact the tower and/or lower the gear. Since I found myself slightly north (approximately 1 NM) of the airport, I elected to hold in that area to give the generator time to come back on and, in case of any additional failures, I would be able to turn final and proceed to the runway. I switched my transponder to 7700 and began to circle, occasionally checking for power, checking the radios and tapping out sos on the push-to-talk when there wasn't enough power to talk. After approximately 5 mins, the ampmeter was still indicating a zero draw with all electrical off and the master switch still on, so I felt that the generator was dead and to wait much longer would be imprudent. I told my passenger that I was going to extend the gear manually, and fly by the tower to get their attention. I then pulled the breakers for the landing gear, lifted the emergency gear lever cover and pushed the red, emergency gear release handle forward. I then extended the landing gear lever to its full length and pushed it forward. I never felt any change in drag, nor did I feel the gear 'lock.' I then pulled the handle back and pushed it forward again. I repeated this several times, but never felt a difference in drag or felt the gear lock. I was concerned that the gear was extended, but hadn't locked. However, since I had never been in this situation before, didn't know if the lack of drag or 'lock' was an issue and therefore proceeded as though the procedure was successful. I then began searching the airport directly and the airspace surrounding it, looking for any traffic either on the ground or in the flight pattern. After determining that there was no immediate traffic in the area, I descended to approximately 100 ft at 80 mph by reducing power and putting in one and then two notches of flaps and flew by the tower directly over runway 15R. When I crossed runway 25, I made a climbing left turn and came back by the tower where I saw a green light being flashed and I wagged my wings in acknowledgement. I then brought the plane around and proceeded to land on runway 15R. I added the last notch of flaps and reduced my power completely. As I rounded out the aircraft, I flared and kept the plane flying as long as I could. Since I was still unsure as to whether the gear had locked, I wanted the landing to be as gentle as possible. I heard a loud 'wop, wop' and figured that the gear hadn't locked and the propeller had hit. I instinctively pulled back on the yoke and then settled back in to keeping the plane flying. Eventually all airspeed bled off and the plane settled onto the runway, propeller hitting the ground. The plane skidded straight and then turned slightly to the left and came to a stop. I immediately switched off the master switch and both my passenger and I exited the aircraft. At no time during the flight, from shortly after takeoff to touchdown, did I have any electrical power of any substance, nor did I have any radio communication. Neither my passenger, nor I was injured during the flight or landing. The wing gear were slightly lowered from the gear well and I'm not sure that they had ever completely retracted or extended. The airport police told me that the tower didn't know that I was in their area until they (the police) had called them after seeing me fly so low over runways 15R and 25. Therefore, the tower never gave me a 'green light.' the plane sustained damage due to propeller strike and minimal damage due to skidding. This could have been avoided by 1) ignoring the ampmeter readings and making a no-go decision on discovery of the weak battery, 2) having a portable power supply on board (I have since found them and am arranging purchase), and 3) though not a fix, would have been extremely helpful to have had a hand-held transceiver for communications (something I am going to purchase).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PA24 250 SINGLE PLT DEPARTED SBA ON A VFR FLT AT NIGHT, WITH A KNOWN ELECTRICAL PROB, ONLY TO LOSE ALL ELECTRICAL CAUSING A RETURN TO THE FIELD WHICH RESULTED IN A GEAR UP LNDG.

Narrative: I COMPLETED A THOROUGH PREFLT AND AFTER MY PAX AND I BOARDED, ATTEMPTED TO START THE ACFT AND DISCOVERED A WEAK BATTERY. I CONTACTED THE PLANE'S OWNER AND AFTER DISCUSSING THE SIT, BOTH AGREED TO HAVE THE FBO BRING OVER A TUG AND USING THE TUG'S BATTERY, JUMP START THE PLANE. THE PLANE IMMEDIATELY STARTED AND UPON CHKING THE AMPMETER, NOTICED A POSITIVE RATE OF CHARGE. AFTER RECEIVING THE CURRENT ATIS, I CONTACTED SANTA BARBARA APCH AND RECEIVED MY CLRNC. THE SANTA BARBARA APCH CTLR NOTIFIED ME THAT HE WAS ALSO MONITORING THE GND AND TWR FREQS AND THAT I SHOULD PROCEED TO RWY 15R VIA TXWY B, XING RWY 25. AS I TAXIED, I DECIDED TO TURN ON MY LNDG LIGHTS SINCE I HAD NEVER DEPARTED SBA AT NIGHT. AS I CAME UPON RWY 25, I LOST PWR TO COM #1 (PANEL MOUNTED GPS/COM), FOLLOWED BY A SQUELCHING IN THE OVERHEAD SPEAKER AND A DIMMING OF THE LIGHTS IN COM #2. SINCE THE ACFT USED A GENERATOR AND THE PWR DRAW IS SUBSTANTIAL WITH FULL ELECTRICAL ON, AND THAT I HAD A WEAK BATTERY, I TURNED OFF THE LNDG LIGHTS AND PROCEEDED TO THE RUN-UP AREA. THE TWR TRIED CONTACTING ME SEVERAL TIMES, BUT I COULDN'T RESPOND DUE TO THE WEAK BATTERY AND LOSS OF RADIOS. ONCE AT THE RUN-UP AREA, I TOOK THE RPM TO 2000 RPM AND WITHIN SEVERAL SECONDS, FULL PWR RETURNED TO THE ACFT. AGAIN I CHKED THE AMPMETER AND A POSITIVE CHARGE WAS INDICATED. I COMPLETED MY RUN-UP CHKLIST AND CONTACTED THE TWR, EXPLAINED THAT I WAS READY FOR TKOF AND THAT MY LOSS OF CONTACT HAD BEEN DUE TO A WEAK BATTERY. I WAS CLRED BY THE TWR FOR TKOF ON RWY 15R, WHEREBY I PROCEEDED TO TAXI, KEEPING MY RPM UP A BIT AND TURNED MY LNDG LIGHTS BACK ON TO HELP ME GET TO AND DOWN THE RWY. ONCE AT RWY 15R, I CTRED THE ACFT ON THE RWY, APPLIED FULL PWR AND PROCEEDED WITH MY TKOF. I ROTATED AT APPROX 80 MPH AND SHORTLY AFTERWARD NOTICED THAT I HAD LOST COM #1 AGAIN, BUT THAT COM #2 WAS FUNCTIONAL. I TURNED OFF THE LNDG LIGHTS THINKING THAT ONCE THE GENERATOR HAD ENOUGH TIME, THE BATTERY WOULD RETURN TO FULL PWR. SINCE A POSITIVE RATE OF CLB WAS INDICATED AND WE WERE COMING TO THE END OF THE RWY, I PROCEEDED TO RAISE THE LNDG GEAR BY MOVING THE GEAR LEVER FROM THE DOWN TO THE UP POS AND HEARD THE GEAR BEGIN TO RAISE. AFTER A MOMENT (MAYBE A SECOND OR TWO), THE ENTIRE PANEL SUDDENLY WENT DARK AND ALL LIGHTING IN AND OUTSIDE THE ACFT WENT OUT. I DONT KNOW IF THE GEAR HAD COMPLETELY RETRACTED. I PUT THE PLANE IN A SLIGHT L TURN TO POS MYSELF ON A L DOWNWIND PATTERN AND CONTINUED TO CLB (BECAUSE OF A LACK OF EXTERNAL LIGHTING I WANTED TO BE ABOVE PATTERN ALT). ONCE I LEVELED OUT AT 2500 FT, I TOOK OUT MY FLASHLIGHT AND CHKED ALL FUEL LEVELS, FUEL PRESSURE AND ELECTRICAL. I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A NEGATIVE READING ON THE AMPMETER AND BEGAN TO TURN OFF ALL NON-ESSENTIAL ELECTRICAL EQUIP (OVERHEAD LIGHTING, PANEL LIGHTING) AND THEN CHKED THE AMPMETER AGAIN AND THERE WAS STILL A NEGATIVE READING. I NOTIFIED MY PAX THAT THERE WAS A PROB AND THAT I WAS GOING TO TRY TO FIX IT. I THEN TURNED OFF ALL ELECTRICAL EQUIP AND TRIED TO LOWER THE GEAR BY MOVING THE GEAR SWITCH FROM THE UP TO DOWN POS. SINCE NOTHING APPEARED TO HAPPEN, I SWITCHED THE GEAR INDICTOR TO THE 'OFF' POS AND I FINALLY GOT A FLICKER OF LIGHTING IN COM #2 AND THE COM PANEL. I TRIED CONTACTING THE TWR, BUT THERE WASN'T ENOUGH PWR TO COMMUNICATE. I TURNED BOTH INSTS OFF AND, CHKING THE AMPMETER ONCE AGAIN, FOUND A ZERO DRAW. I THEN CHKED ALL BREAKERS AND FOUND THEY WERE IN. AT THIS POINT I WAS HOPING THAT THE GENERATOR WOULD KICK IN AND GIVE ME ENOUGH PWR TO CONTACT THE TWR AND/OR LOWER THE GEAR. SINCE I FOUND MYSELF SLIGHTLY N (APPROX 1 NM) OF THE ARPT, I ELECTED TO HOLD IN THAT AREA TO GIVE THE GENERATOR TIME TO COME BACK ON AND, IN CASE OF ANY ADDITIONAL FAILURES, I WOULD BE ABLE TO TURN FINAL AND PROCEED TO THE RWY. I SWITCHED MY XPONDER TO 7700 AND BEGAN TO CIRCLE, OCCASIONALLY CHKING FOR PWR, CHKING THE RADIOS AND TAPPING OUT SOS ON THE PUSH-TO-TALK WHEN THERE WASN'T ENOUGH PWR TO TALK. AFTER APPROX 5 MINS, THE AMPMETER WAS STILL INDICATING A ZERO DRAW WITH ALL ELECTRICAL OFF AND THE MASTER SWITCH STILL ON, SO I FELT THAT THE GENERATOR WAS DEAD AND TO WAIT MUCH LONGER WOULD BE IMPRUDENT. I TOLD MY PAX THAT I WAS GOING TO EXTEND THE GEAR MANUALLY, AND FLY BY THE TWR TO GET THEIR ATTN. I THEN PULLED THE BREAKERS FOR THE LNDG GEAR, LIFTED THE EMER GEAR LEVER COVER AND PUSHED THE RED, EMER GEAR RELEASE HANDLE FORWARD. I THEN EXTENDED THE LNDG GEAR LEVER TO ITS FULL LENGTH AND PUSHED IT FORWARD. I NEVER FELT ANY CHANGE IN DRAG, NOR DID I FEEL THE GEAR 'LOCK.' I THEN PULLED THE HANDLE BACK AND PUSHED IT FORWARD AGAIN. I REPEATED THIS SEVERAL TIMES, BUT NEVER FELT A DIFFERENCE IN DRAG OR FELT THE GEAR LOCK. I WAS CONCERNED THAT THE GEAR WAS EXTENDED, BUT HADN'T LOCKED. HOWEVER, SINCE I HAD NEVER BEEN IN THIS SIT BEFORE, DIDN'T KNOW IF THE LACK OF DRAG OR 'LOCK' WAS AN ISSUE AND THEREFORE PROCEEDED AS THOUGH THE PROC WAS SUCCESSFUL. I THEN BEGAN SEARCHING THE ARPT DIRECTLY AND THE AIRSPACE SURROUNDING IT, LOOKING FOR ANY TFC EITHER ON THE GND OR IN THE FLT PATTERN. AFTER DETERMINING THAT THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE TFC IN THE AREA, I DSNDED TO APPROX 100 FT AT 80 MPH BY REDUCING PWR AND PUTTING IN ONE AND THEN TWO NOTCHES OF FLAPS AND FLEW BY THE TWR DIRECTLY OVER RWY 15R. WHEN I CROSSED RWY 25, I MADE A CLBING L TURN AND CAME BACK BY THE TWR WHERE I SAW A GREEN LIGHT BEING FLASHED AND I WAGGED MY WINGS IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I THEN BROUGHT THE PLANE AROUND AND PROCEEDED TO LAND ON RWY 15R. I ADDED THE LAST NOTCH OF FLAPS AND REDUCED MY PWR COMPLETELY. AS I ROUNDED OUT THE ACFT, I FLARED AND KEPT THE PLANE FLYING AS LONG AS I COULD. SINCE I WAS STILL UNSURE AS TO WHETHER THE GEAR HAD LOCKED, I WANTED THE LNDG TO BE AS GENTLE AS POSSIBLE. I HEARD A LOUD 'WOP, WOP' AND FIGURED THAT THE GEAR HADN'T LOCKED AND THE PROP HAD HIT. I INSTINCTIVELY PULLED BACK ON THE YOKE AND THEN SETTLED BACK IN TO KEEPING THE PLANE FLYING. EVENTUALLY ALL AIRSPD BLED OFF AND THE PLANE SETTLED ONTO THE RWY, PROP HITTING THE GND. THE PLANE SKIDDED STRAIGHT AND THEN TURNED SLIGHTLY TO THE L AND CAME TO A STOP. I IMMEDIATELY SWITCHED OFF THE MASTER SWITCH AND BOTH MY PAX AND I EXITED THE ACFT. AT NO TIME DURING THE FLT, FROM SHORTLY AFTER TKOF TO TOUCHDOWN, DID I HAVE ANY ELECTRICAL PWR OF ANY SUBSTANCE, NOR DID I HAVE ANY RADIO COM. NEITHER MY PAX, NOR I WAS INJURED DURING THE FLT OR LNDG. THE WING GEAR WERE SLIGHTLY LOWERED FROM THE GEAR WELL AND I'M NOT SURE THAT THEY HAD EVER COMPLETELY RETRACTED OR EXTENDED. THE ARPT POLICE TOLD ME THAT THE TWR DIDN'T KNOW THAT I WAS IN THEIR AREA UNTIL THEY (THE POLICE) HAD CALLED THEM AFTER SEEING ME FLY SO LOW OVER RWYS 15R AND 25. THEREFORE, THE TWR NEVER GAVE ME A 'GREEN LIGHT.' THE PLANE SUSTAINED DAMAGE DUE TO PROP STRIKE AND MINIMAL DAMAGE DUE TO SKIDDING. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY 1) IGNORING THE AMPMETER READINGS AND MAKING A NO-GO DECISION ON DISCOVERY OF THE WEAK BATTERY, 2) HAVING A PORTABLE PWR SUPPLY ON BOARD (I HAVE SINCE FOUND THEM AND AM ARRANGING PURCHASE), AND 3) THOUGH NOT A FIX, WOULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO HAVE HAD A HAND-HELD TRANSCEIVER FOR COMS (SOMETHING I AM GOING TO PURCHASE).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.