ERA14LA244

The pilot reported that the flight departed about 2 hours after sunset and that, several minutes after departure, the airplane's lights began to dim. The pilot reduced the electrical load; however, within several minutes, the airplane lost all electrical power. The pilot chose to continue to the destination airport, which was located 21 nautical miles from the departure airport and was within sight. Upon reaching the airport, the pilot used the runway end identifier lights and the runway's visual approach slope indicator lights to guide the airplane to the runway threshold. Due to the lack of electrical power, he was unable to use the airplane's radio to activate the other available runway lighting or use the airplane's landing lights to help him further locate the runway after crossing the threshold. The pilot misjudged the airplane's height above the runway, and, during the landing flare from an estimated height of about 4 or 5 ft, the airplane impacted the runway. The airplane then veered right, departed the runway, struck an airport sign, and was substantially damaged. A postaccident examination revealed that the alternator had failed, which likely led to the airplane's total loss of electrical power. Review of the airplane's maintenance logs found that no maintenance related to the alternator had been documented in the airplane's 50-year and 2,600-flight-hour history. A survey of airports near the airplane's route of flight showed no continuously lighted airports located within a reasonable distance of the airplane's route.

On May 8, 2014, about 2250 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235, N8683W, was substantially damaged while landing at Hernando County Airport (BKV), Brooksville, Florida. The airline transport pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Inverness Airport (INF), Inverness, Florida, about 2225. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilots were returning to their home airport following dinner. The flight departed about two hours after sunset, and several minutes after departure, the airplane's lights began to dim. The pilot noted an abnormal current reading on the ammeter. With the destination airport in sight, and only about 20 minutes of flight remaining, the pilot reduced the electrical load; however, within several minutes all electrical power was lost. Upon reaching the destination airport, the pilot utilized the runway end identifier lights along with the runway's visual approach slope indicator lights to guide the airplane to the runway threshold. Without electrical power, he was unable to use the airplane's radio to activate the other available runway lighting, or utilize a landing light in order to help him further locate the runway after crossing the threshold. The pilot stated that he misjudged the airplane's height above the 7,002-foot-long by 150-foot-wide, concrete runway, and during the landing flare, the airplane impacted the runway from an estimated height of about 4 or 5 feet. Upon touchdown, the airplane veered right and struck a runway distance remaining sign, resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The nose of the airplane then struck the ground, resulting in damage to the nose landing gear and firewall. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed in June 2013, and the airplane had accumulated about 5 flight hours since that time. The pilot, who was also an airframe and powerplant mechanic, examined airplane's electrical system following the accident and noted that the alternator had failed. He also noted during a review of the airplane's maintenance logs that the alternator appeared to have been originally installed in the airplane when it was newly manufactured, about 50 years and more than 2,600 flight hours prior to the accident flight. No maintenance to the alternator itself was documented in the logs. One maintenance log entry dated October 1979 documented the completion of an annual inspection and stated, "Repair alternator adjuster bracket." A survey of the airports located in the vicinity of the airplane's 20 nautical-mile route of flight showed that with the exception of two airports located within a mode-C veil surrounding a major international airport, the nearest continuously lighted airport was located nearly 90 nautical miles from the mid-point of the 21 nautical mile route.