General aviation pilot reports experiences electrical failure at 11500 feet and continues toward fme...

Attributes
ACN	847280
Time
Date	200908
Place
Locale Reference	NUI.Airport
State Reference	MD
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Retractable Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise Descent Final Approach
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	AC Generator/Alternator
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25 Flight Crew Total 1600 Flight Crew Type 25
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Airspace Violation All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

I was flying VFR to fme with a planned fuel stop outside of the washington/baltimore airspace. I was receiving flight following when I noticed a drain of electricity on my ammeter. Soon after I lost my electrical system and contact with ATC. I had a back up GPS so I elected to continue on the 450 mile track. Weather was worse than expected so I spent a lot of time concentrating on flying and ended up flying into a moving tfr (presidential). As I flew closer to my destination 150 miles from fme the battery in my hand held GPS died. So with no communication; navigation and storms getting worse I elected to land at the first airport I came to. The airport ZZZ ended up being in restricted airspace and a naval air station. The contributing factors are loss of the electrical system. I forgot about the tfr over raleigh; nc; thunderstorms over my entire route and not looking at the chart long enough to determine the airspace and airport I was going to. I didn't really have a corrective action since I was doing the safest thing for the flight but if this occurs again; I'll land as soon as possible instead of continuing the flight.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: General aviation pilot reports experiences electrical failure at 11500 feet and continues toward FME using hand held GPS unit. This unit fails 150 miles south of FME and the reporter elects to land at the first airport he encounters; a military field; which is located inside a restricted area. Along the way a TFR was also penetrated.

Narrative: I was flying VFR to FME with a planned fuel stop outside of the Washington/Baltimore airspace. I was receiving flight following when I noticed a drain of electricity on my ammeter. Soon after I lost my electrical system and contact with ATC. I had a back up GPS so I elected to continue on the 450 mile track. Weather was worse than expected so I spent a lot of time concentrating on flying and ended up flying into a moving TFR (Presidential). As I flew closer to my destination 150 miles from FME the battery in my hand held GPS died. So with no communication; navigation and storms getting worse I elected to land at the first airport I came to. The airport ZZZ ended up being in restricted airspace and a Naval Air Station. The contributing factors are loss of the electrical system. I forgot about the TFR over Raleigh; NC; thunderstorms over my entire route and not looking at the chart long enough to determine the airspace and airport I was going to. I didn't really have a corrective action since I was doing the safest thing for the flight but if this occurs again; I'll land ASAP instead of continuing the flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.