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C150 pilot reports diverting to a suitable airport after an on board electrical failure. During the visual approach another aircraft in the traffic pattern is under flown and the reporter is asked to contact the tower after shutting down. Alternator failure and engine damage are diagnosed by the local a&P.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 979497 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201111 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Cessna 150 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | AC Generator/Alternator |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25 Flight Crew Total 1498 Flight Crew Type 524 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Airspace Violation All Types Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Procedural Landing Without Clearance |
Narrative:
About 1.5 hours after takeoff; the aircraft lost all internal electrical power. The GPS switched to battery power and indicated that a suitable airport was about 10 miles to the south. I was still some 42 minutes from my destination. I made the decision to land there. About 6 miles north of the field the engine started making a loud strange noise. As I approached the noise got louder. I made the decision that it was essential to land as soon as possible. As I approached the airport property from the northeast I descended to about 500 ft MSL. Due to the wind direction; the active runway was xx. I made the decision to land on runway yy the farthest runway to the southeast. There was still no internal electric power and the engine noise was getting louder; however; the GPS was operating on its own battery power. At about midfield across from the control tower I passed about 500+ ft underneath an airplane apparently on a downwind leg for runway xx; which is the only airplane I saw that was airborne. Shortly thereafter; I landed on runway yy. As I was taxing to the tarmac I saw the first light signal which was a steady red light from the control tower. After stopping at the parking area; a lineman from the FBO arrived and gave me a card with the control tower's phone number and said they wanted me to call that number. I called the tower and I identified myself and the planes n-number. The controller asked me if I knew that it was a controlled field. I said yes; that its class D airspace; but I felt it necessary that I land because there was no internal electrical power in the aircraft. He said; apparently under the circumstances; he was not going to file any enforcement action against me. I thanked him and the conservation ended. I was advised later by an a&P mechanic at the field that the engine was not airworthy and must be disassembled and inspected due to parts from the alternator entering the inside of the engine and causing major damage.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: C150 pilot reports diverting to a suitable airport after an on board electrical failure. During the visual approach another aircraft in the traffic pattern is under flown and the reporter is asked to contact the Tower after shutting down. Alternator failure and engine damage are diagnosed by the local A&P.
Narrative: About 1.5 hours after takeoff; the aircraft lost all internal electrical power. The GPS switched to battery power and indicated that a suitable airport was about 10 miles to the south. I was still some 42 minutes from my destination. I made the decision to land there. About 6 miles north of the field the engine started making a loud strange noise. As I approached the noise got louder. I made the decision that it was essential to land as soon as possible. As I approached the airport property from the northeast I descended to about 500 FT MSL. Due to the wind direction; the active Runway was XX. I made the decision to land on Runway YY the farthest runway to the southeast. There was still no internal electric power and the engine noise was getting louder; however; the GPS was operating on its own battery power. At about midfield across from the Control Tower I passed about 500+ FT underneath an airplane apparently on a downwind leg for Runway XX; which is the only airplane I saw that was airborne. Shortly thereafter; I landed on Runway YY. As I was taxing to the tarmac I saw the first light signal which was a steady red light from the Control Tower. After stopping at the parking area; a lineman from the FBO arrived and gave me a card with the Control Tower's phone number and said they wanted me to call that number. I called the Tower and I identified myself and the planes N-number. The Controller asked me if I knew that it was a controlled field. I said yes; that its Class D airspace; but I felt it necessary that I land because there was no internal electrical power in the aircraft. He said; apparently under the circumstances; he was not going to file any enforcement action against me. I thanked him and the conservation ended. I was advised later by an A&P Mechanic at the field that the engine was not airworthy and must be disassembled and inspected due to parts from the alternator entering the inside of the engine and causing major damage.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.