Accident Overview
During a local night flight conducted under visual flight rules (VFR), the airplane suffered a complete loss of electrical power. The pilot elected to return to the home airport. Upon arrival, the pilot was unable to activate the runway lights; however, the runway was equipped with Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) lighting. The passenger used a flashlight to illuminate the instruments, and the pilot executed a no-flaps approach. The airplane touched down approximately halfway down the runway, overran the remaining runway surface, and struck a ditch.
Performance Calculations
According to the airplane owner's manual, a short field landing distance performance chart indicated that the distance required to clear a 50-foot obstacle and land with no flaps deployed was 1,687 feet. The runway measured 3,496 feet in length and 75 feet in width.
Pilot Experience
The pilot had been issued his pilot certificate the day before the accident. He had accumulated 47 hours of total flight experience, of which 3.5 hours were at night. All of his flight experience was in the same make and model of the accident airplane.
Post-Accident Examination
A subsequent test of the airplane's electrical system revealed that the voltage regulator was inoperative.