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


Electrical System Abnormalities

Low-Volts Annunciator Light
The SR20 and SR22 low-volts annunciator lights illuminate only if the voltage on the Essential Bus drops below 24.5 volts.

Problem Situation: Causes and Remedy

  • Low-Volts Annunciator Illumination
  • Causes: Dual Alternator failure or taxiing at low RPMs with a high electrical load.
  • Remedy: If the low-volts light illuminates while the plane is on the ground, try to increase engine RPMs to bring the Alternators online. If the low-volts light illuminates while in flight, it’s advisable to land as soon as possible. Use the advantage of CIRRUS redundancy to step back, think and decide problem resolution.
page 9