This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
Total loss of electrical power in the air. Fuel on board during departure, 48 gallons – full tanks useable fuel.
Starting the engine: At the beginning, noticed slight pop-up of landing and strobe light circuit breaker, just a bit of white layer of circuit breakers could be seen and I, the instructor, put it back in.
Noticed everything was fine and good to taxi.
Run up: Noticed no issues with magneto check and voltage flow was well around 14V.
During taxi and departure, student pilot hardly got his seat adjusted to reach the controls and was showcasing macho, invulnerability, and anti-authority the entire time, who was also late for the flight but did not seem to care much.
Hence the instructor was concentrating much on keeping the flight coordinated and safe the entire duration of flight.
Takeoff from Runway XXR. Airspeed indicator came out alive/active and all indications on the systems were in green.
Was asking the student to step on the rudder and get back to the centerline.
Departed to north side. Climb. Noticed student repeating the same mistake, which was to keep his legs completely off the rudders, resulting in uncoordinated flight.
Completed the climb checklist and verified. Leveled the aircraft at 3,000 feet and completed and verified the checklist.
Slow flight dirty. Student completed the activity but drifted completely towards northeast since there was no rudder usage and interest to fly.
While the flight was good and under control until now, we noticed the G750 turn off completely and the instructor concluded it might be overheating since the voltage was in green.
Now we had lost our transponder, communications, all primary flight instruments and maps, as well as charts.
Transitioning into approach stall. The student recovered in a very harsh way and we heard a loud bang closer to the engine. Simultaneously lost our G500 and G750.
Hence, we lost all electrical power and flew with G5, which is our standby instrument.
Noticed amps 0 in the systems and voltage dropping rapidly.
Flight back to ZZZ. Took over the controls from the student, leveled off, and we were around 8 nm northeast of the field by then.
Turned the aircraft around and stayed all the way clear of the approach paths of Runway XXR and XXL. Asked the student to help me with checklist and traffic sighting. Pointed the aircraft nose towards towers, which is standard procedure to get back into the airport. Maintained 3,000 feet MSL throughout.
Contacted the flight school owner/chief pilot over the phone and texts to clear the ZZZ airspace by stating I’ll be circling on top of the runway between 2,500 and 3,000 feet and come in to land on Runway XXR and to inform the Tower the same instructions.
Watched out for all the traffic for both runways and once I noticed all traffic holding their positions, I tried to circle around the Tower to see if we could notice light gun signals. Since it was a bright and clear day, I couldn’t see the light gun signals, but received a text from the owner saying it’s green, we can come in a land.
Following these instructions, made a right descending turn on Runway XXR and made a safe landing.
As soon as we landed the engine indications systems turned off as well. Left with only G5 standby instrument.
The airport ground staff in a truck escorted us back to the ramp.
Noticed the alternator cable was cut. Maybe that was the loud bang we heard midair.
Primary Problem: Aircraft
ACN: 2050663
I as an instructor had a similar issue with a student. My solution was, immediately shut the aircraft down, excused the student out of aircraft. I then told him to walk back to office. We had not yet left ramp. I parked a/c. When I returned to building I told student to find a different instructor at a different airport. He would not be able to fly here again
Aren’t popped C/B’s allowed one reset?
This flight should have never happened period. The second the student show any unnecessary action (s) the “cfi” should have canceled the lesson especially when he saw breakers pop! Thats a sure sign something is definitely wrong. Failure to take action is a big mistake. This “cfi” should have is license revolked, and never again allowed to teach any flight training.
If this is what he did this time, I hate to think of what he has done in the past or will do in the future. As for the student? I don’t think talking to him will change is “attitude” one bit. He wants to be ” Maverick”? Then let him play “video games” but not in a real aircraft. This is the kind of “pilot” you read of on the “NTSB reports” for the first and last time
Is this a harsh criticism? Yes it is, but i rather be that, then have someone else learn the hard way or worse.
Writer literally LOLed at the ridiculousness of this ASRS report. Writer is not sure what to even say about this dumpster fire of a flight that the CFI allowed to happen, and continue, and prolong, in the face of multiple compounding failures. CFI showcased invulnerability and failed to model the DECIDE model of ADM.
Not possible. Report is a sham. An uninterested student is overwhelmed and instructor should have asked WTF before getting airborne!!!! A cut cable is not a “why”. The cause of the cut IS.a why. The cause of an accident is never just “the airplane”. The person is not an instructor but a rather poor pilot wannabe and miserable wtiter
This person should not be an instructor
This report was generated by AI
0 time students should train in a taildragger up to and including first solo.
Result? They’ll learn what rudder is all about, appreciate it, embrace it and use it appropriately for the rest of their flying years. Sure worked for me.
The student must be using the rudder correctly before moving beyond the 4 basics.
Slow flight, and stalls, are beyond the current training of the student.
Then there is the attitude of ignoring problems with the plane. Are mechanical problems so common at this flight school that they must be ignored to complete a lesson?
Why not call the tower on your phone? That would be more direct. And why fly around looking for lights? You put yourself, and the student in more danger by delaying the landing. You could have had an electrical fire in the engine cowling.
This is just another example of instructors not being competent as pilots.
This is one of the weirdest ASRS reports I have ever read. The instructor sometimes refers to themselves in the third person, sometimes in the first person, and the whole situation is just odd.
This has to be some type of parody. I can’t believe it was published.
Popped a circuit breaker on the ground, reset without knowing the cause. Then after multiple electrical failures continued to perform instructional maneuvers. You should lose your CFI. Let alone failure to address the student attitude with the student.
Why in the world would you be “transitioning into approach stalls” with several electrical power failures going on?? Why would you allow the “student” to not use the rudder.
Primary Problem: The iinstructor!
Several? Up until this point only one instrument shut down and voltage was still good.
Love the characterization of the student pilot: “During taxi and departure, student pilot hardly got his seat adjusted to reach the controls and was showcasing macho, invulnerability, and anti-authority the entire time, who was also late for the flight but did not seem to care much.” Guess he thought he was auditioning for Top Gun and looking for the movie camera crew. that’s all the GA community needs: another swaggering flyboy cowboy.
And the alt cable ‘cut?’ Really? What cut it? What caused that loud ‘bang?’ Some part flying off the engine through that cable? Need to hear that answer.
Regards/J
Curious to know whether the alternator cable was actually “cut” due to sabotage, or if it was “cut” due to some type of mechanical malfunction…and if by some type of mechanical malfunction, what, actually, was the malfunction? What actually “cut” the cable, and if the cable was “cut”, why was this not noticed during the pre-flight? If the cable was “cut” during the actual flight,how was it cut, by what….or, by whom..??