Incident Summary
A pilot operating under an IFR flight plan encountered an alternator failure in the aircraft's engine. As a result, the battery became depleted to the point that the navigation and communication equipment ceased to function. The pilot was able to descend to visual flight rules (VFR) conditions.
Pilot Actions
After descending, the pilot referenced the checklist to manually extend the landing gear. During the manual extension process, each time the pilot released the crank, it turned in the reverse direction by itself. Consequently, the pilot decided to perform a gear-up landing alongside the runway.
Outcome
Following the incident, the pilot reported that the landing gear handle was in the down position but that he had forgotten to pull the landing gear motor circuit breaker. The aircraft landed gear-up adjacent to the runway as a result.