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A PA28 alternator switch physically failed on a night flight resulting in a battery drain from lights so after securing all power except radio the pilot could hear ATC but not transmit and was cleared to return to the airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 992352 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201201 |
| 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 | Cruise |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Switch |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Other / Unknown |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 1500 Flight Crew Type 700 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
In flight the alternator switch physically broke in half and would not operate. I was still on radar and in communication with tower. The power drain on the battery because of the lights and strobes was causing the radio not to transmit at an audible level to the tower. Incoming transmissions for the ATC were loud and clear. I turned back in for landing when the problem was evident. I had to turn off lights to maintain communication. The controller could not hear my transmission and had me turn to a heading of 270 if I could establish that I could hear him. The turn was done about 6 miles northeast of the airport while back inbound. At that point the controller established that I could hear him and cleared me to the airport with a right traffic to 31R. He gave me the clearance twice. I could hear all ATC communication but they could not hear me. I landed as per his instructions and moved off runway 31L at taxiway north as instructed and parked in the north triangle area. I could hear all ATC communication but ATC could not hear me. As soon as I had the airplane parked safely I called tower on my cell phone and had an escort vehicle escort me to the parking area.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA28 alternator switch physically failed on a night flight resulting in a battery drain from lights so after securing all power except radio the pilot could hear ATC but not transmit and was cleared to return to the airport.
Narrative: In flight the alternator switch physically broke in half and would not operate. I was still on radar and in communication with Tower. The power drain on the battery because of the lights and strobes was causing the radio not to transmit at an audible level to the Tower. Incoming transmissions for the ATC were loud and clear. I turned back in for landing when the problem was evident. I had to turn off lights to maintain communication. The Controller could not hear my transmission and had me turn to a heading of 270 if I could establish that I could hear him. The turn was done about 6 miles northeast of the airport while back inbound. At that point the Controller established that I could hear him and cleared me to the airport with a right traffic to 31R. He gave me the clearance twice. I could hear all ATC Communication but they could not hear me. I landed as per his instructions and moved off Runway 31L at Taxiway N as instructed and parked in the N triangle area. I could hear all ATC Communication but ATC could not hear me. As soon as I had the airplane parked safely I called Tower on my cell phone and had an escort vehicle escort me to the parking area.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.