In 2003, mechanical and maintenance were the major cause of 15% of all GA accidents, and 7.5% of fatal accidents

Typically, one mistake or failure—a precipitating event—leads to another in a cascading series of malfunctions and mistakes, culminatiing in an accident. This is called the accident chain.

By any calculation, the average pilot could fly many, many lifetimes without having an accident of any sort, let alone a much more rare fatal mishap.

In 2003, electrical/ignition failures accounted for 3% of all accidents, and 0% of fatal accidents.

2004 Nall Report

 
 

CIRRUS Monthly Proficiency Program
3 part series on IFR operations
August – Part 1: Electrical Systems



Alt Indications
The following examples reflect flying in IFR conditions with the pitot heat, strobe lights, navigation lights, normally charged batteries, and all other systems running normally.

Normal IFR Flight

  • ALT 1 indications
  • 30 amps, approx.
  • ALT 2 indications
  • 5 amps approx.
  • Voltage
  • 28.75 volt

ALT 1 Failure

  • ALT 1 indications
  • Zero amps
  • BATT:
  • Negative indication on the amp meter when the toggle switch is in the BATT position. This indicates that BAT 1 is supplying the power to the Non-Essential Distribution Bus.
  • ALT 2 indications
  • 5 amps, approx
  • Voltage
  • 28.75 volts

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