What happened
On 1 October 2014, a Piper PA-24-250 Comanche, registration G-ARLB, was performing a positioning flight from Blackbushe to Turweston Aerodrome for scheduled maintenance. During the initial climb phase of the flight, the pilot attempted to retract the landing gear, at which point the aircraft suffered a total loss of electrical power.
Following the electrical failure, the pilot was unable to restore power to the aircraft's systems. This loss of electricity prevented the manual extension of the landing gear. After evaluating the situation, the pilot initially considered returning to Blackbushe but ultimately decided to proceed to Turweston, where the aircraft's maintenance provider was located. The aircraft subsequently performed a gear-up landing at Turweston. The pilot escaped the aircraft without injury, though the landing resulted in damage to the propeller, the underside of the fuselage, and a shock-load to the engine.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators focused on the sequence of events following the electrical failure during the climb-out and the subsequent inability to deploy the landing gear manually.