AIR TAXI FLT LOSES ALTERNATOR; BUT HAS HANDHELD ON BOARD. TWR CTLR DOES NOT RESPOND BUT GND HEARS LOUD AND CLEAR.

Date: 1994-01 · Aircraft: Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy

Synopsis

AIR TAXI FLT LOSES ALTERNATOR; BUT HAS HANDHELD ON BOARD. TWR CTLR DOES NOT RESPOND BUT GND HEARS LOUD AND CLEAR.

Narrative

BEGINNING 6TH AND FINAL LEG OF REGULAR SCHEDULE. I CONTACTED APCH/DEP CTLR TO OBTAIN IFR CLRNC TO DEST APPROX 55 MIN AWAY. CTLR ISSUED SQUAWK AND LATER RPTED NO XPONDER WAS RECEIVED. I CHKED SYS AND FOUND ALTERNATOR INOP. I NOTIFIED CTLR OF ALTERNATOR FAILURE AND PROCEEDED TOWARD DEST VFR. AS I APCHED DEST (TCA WAS AHEAD BUT ARPT WAS UNDERNEATH AND NOT PRIMARY ARPT OF LNDG) I TURNED XPONDER TO ALTERNATOR; ON 1200 SO AS NOT TO FLY IN MODE C VEIL WITHOUT NECESSARY REQUIREMENTS. I PLANNED TO USE HAND HELD TRANSCEIVER FOR COM TO SAVE BATTERY FOR LNDG GEAR AND INDICATORS. NOW TROUBLE STARTED HERE. LCL TWR CTLR WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE MY XMISSIONS AND I ENDED UP CIRCLING! FINALLY I CONTACTED GND CTL AT THE SAME TWR TO EXPLAIN THE NATURE OF MY PROB AND TELL HIM TO GIVE TWR A HEADS UP. HE COPIED LOUD AND CLR AND I STATED THE FACT THAT MY ALTERNATOR WAS INOP AND I WAS ON RESERVE BATTERY PWR. WHEN I WENT BACK TO TWR; TWR DID CALL (FIRST BY WRONG COMPANY NAME) BUT OFFERED ABSOLUTELY NO ASSISTANCE. BY THIS TIME MY BATTERY WAS DEPLETED TO THE POINT THAT HAD TO MANUALLY EXTEND GEAR AND FLAPS WERE INOP. IT WAS DUSK! CTLRS FINAL WORDS WERE 'CHK NAV LIGHTS ON!' BOY; ORLANDO TWR THANKS FOR NOTHING. DO I HAVE TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY IF MY ALTERNATOR FAILS ENRTE TO GET ACCEPTABLE SVC? CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THE PROB HAD EXISTED FOR SOME TIME. THIS PARTICULAR CTLR SEEMS TO HAVE A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE ACFT ENVIRONMENT. HE SEEMS TO BE DELIBERATELY UNACCOMMODATING. ANALYST GAVE RPTR HOT LINE NUMBER TO USE. WHEN RPTR STATED THAT OTHER CREWS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROB IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT HE CONSIDER REQUESTING HIS MGMNT TO CONFER WITH TWR CHIEF TO SEE IF CHANGES COULD BE MADE IN CTLR PROFESSIONALISM. ANALYST QUESTIONED WHY HE DID NOT SQUAWK 7600 AND JUST GO IN TO LAND? HE WAS USING HIS HANDHELD AND FELT THAT WOULD DO THE JOB; IT OBVIOUSLY DID NOT. WANTED TO CONSERVE HIS BATTERY PWR TO EXTEND GEAR AND FLAPS; BUT DID NOT GET FLAPS ANYWAY. VERY FRUSTRATING. SINCE IT WAS GETTING DARK; CTLR SEEMED MORE INTERESTED IN HIS NAV LIGHTS THAN HELPING HIM GET DOWN.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.