1996-06 · NASA ASRS report 338532
ACFT EQUIP PROB. GENERATOR CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED AND RPTR PLT LOST FLT INFO AS WELL AS LIGHTING. RPTR STILL HAD VHF RECEIVER; BUT NO XMITTER. APCH CTLR PROVIDED VECTORS FOR A NO GYRO APCH. DURING APCH RPTR FOUND GENERATOR CIRCUIT BREAKER OUT AND RESET; GETTING BACK ALL ELECTRICAL SYS.
WE WERE ENRTE TO MADISON; WI; (IFR) FROM EGV; WI; TO SIT OUT (PLANNED) LOW CEILINGS IN ALL CHICAGO AREA ARPTS. OUR FINAL DEST WAS UGN; IL. ALL ARPTS ALONG THE LAKE AND NEAR W WERE 100 FT FOG. THE SIT OCCURRED WHILE ON APCH TO MSN. WE HAD JUST BEEN SWITCHED OVER FROM ZAU TO MSN APCH. SHORTLY AFTER MSN HAD GIVEN ME A FEW CHANGES; IE; HDG; ALT; ETC; WE LOST PWR TO OUR STORM SCOPE. THIS WAS CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY MORE ELECTRICAL FAILURE: RNAV; EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR LIGHTING; AND THEN HSI; ETC. IMMEDIATELY; APCH TOLD ME THAT HE KNEW THAT I COULD HEAR HIM (BY THE MANEUVERS OF THE PLANE) BUT HE COULD NOT HEAR MY RESPONSES. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO TURN OFF ALL RADIOS; ETC; INCLUDING THE XPONDER; WHICH I DID; AND NOT TO WASTE PWR BY ANSWERING HIM; BUT TO CONTINUE FOLLOWING HIS INSTRUCTIONS. HE IMMEDIATELY STARTED ME ON A 'NO GYRO' APCH. HE WAS VERY COMPETENT AND VERY COMPLIMENTARY TO ME FOR MY EXECUTION. WE WERE N OF THE ARPT. THE ACTIVE ILS WAS RWY 36. HE BROUGHT ME AROUND; LOWERED ME. AFTER SOME TIME OF GETTING THE AVIATION UNDER CTL; I STARTED A CHK OF THE PANEL (L TO R). I SWITCHED ON THE ALTERNATE AVIONICS KEY; THEN AS I FELT ALONG THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS; I FELT THE GENERATOR CIRCUIT BREAKER HAD POPPED. I RESET IT. ALL ELECTRICAL RETURNED. I ONLY TALKED TO HIM AGAIN; HOWEVER; AFTER I HAD THE RWY IN SIGHT (600 FT AGL). I DID THIS SO AS NOT TO BREAK UP OUR SMOOTH RAPPORT IF THE PWR FAILED AGAIN. WE HAD A BEAUTIFUL; SAFE LNDG. WHILE THEY HAD EMER VEHICLES OUT; NONE WAS NEEDED. I DID NOT DECLARE AN EMER DUE TO THE SMOOTHNESS OF THE INCIDENT. I BELIEVE THAT I HAD TOO MUCH 'ON' EVEN THE LNDG AND TAXI LIGHTS. WE HAVE SCHEDULED A MECHANICAL CHK TO SEE IF THERE MAY BE A SHORT THAT WAS THE CAUSE AND NOT AN OVERLOAD OF IN USE EQUIP.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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