Incident Overview
During a night round-robin flight, the pilot encountered an alternator failure. As he returned to his point of origin, the battery became depleted, resulting in a loss of radio communication, landing light, and cockpit lighting. The pilot relied on a flashlight for cockpit illumination.
Attempted Landing
The pilot decided to land at the closest available airport. However, as he was on short final approach, the runway lights went out. Unable to turn them back on due to the electrical failure, he initiated a go-around. On the subsequent landing, the aircraft bounced off the runway and struck two fences.
Post-Accident Examination
A post-accident maintenance examination of the aircraft revealed a broken field wire on the alternator, which caused the alternator failure.