Accident Narrative
On May 8, 2014, at approximately 2250 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235, registration N8683W, sustained substantial damage while landing at Hernando County Airport (BKV) in Brooksville, Florida. The airline transport pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Inverness Airport (INF) about 2225, following dinner. The aircraft departed approximately two hours after sunset.
Minutes after departure, the airplane's lights began to dim, and the pilot observed an abnormal current reading on the ammeter. With the destination airport in sight and about 20 minutes of flight remaining, the pilot reduced the electrical load, but within minutes all electrical power was lost.
Upon reaching BKV, the pilot used the runway end identifier lights (REIL) and the visual approach slope indicator (VASI) to guide the airplane to the runway threshold. Without electrical power, he could not use the radio to activate other runway lighting or a landing light to help locate the runway after crossing the threshold. The pilot stated he misjudged the airplane's height above the 7,002-foot-long, 150-foot-wide concrete runway. During the landing flare, the airplane impacted the runway from an estimated height of 4 to 5 feet. After touchdown, the airplane veered right and struck a runway distance remaining sign, causing substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The nose then struck the ground, damaging the nose landing gear and firewall.
Post-Accident Examination
The aircraft's most recent annual inspection was completed in June 2013, and the airplane had accumulated about 5 flight hours since that time. The pilot, who also held airframe and powerplant mechanic certification, examined the electrical system after the accident and determined that the alternator had failed. He also noted during a review of the maintenance logs that the alternator appeared to have been originally installed when the airplane was manufactured, about 50 years and more than 2,600 flight hours prior to the accident flight. No maintenance to the alternator itself was documented in the logs. A single maintenance log entry dated October 1979 documented completion of an annual inspection and stated, "Repair alternator adjuster bracket."
Airport Lighting Information
A survey of airports located along the airplane's 21-nautical-mile route of flight revealed that, with the exception of two airports within a mode-C veil surrounding a major international airport, the nearest continuously lighted airport was located nearly 90 nautical miles from the midpoint of the route.