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An instructor pilot exited the dca frz for a practice flight; lost and then restored his transponder only to later suffer a complete electrical failure and loss of communication. Due to concerns about weather he reentered the sfra without a clearance and a transponder to land at a VMC airport where he contacted authorities to explain his incursion.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 963736 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201108 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | PCT.TRACON |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Transponder |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Instructor |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Radar 8 Flight Crew Last 90 Days 80 Flight Crew Total 650 Flight Crew Type 650 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Airspace Violation All Types |
Narrative:
On the way out of the frz [flight restricted zone]; there was problem with the transponder. ATC did not observe the transponder. As a result I asked and received clearance to go to the nearest airport. On final at the airport; the transponder came alive. I terminated the landing; went around; called ATC and asked to continue to the practice area. Received the clearance and proceed to the practice area.20 min later I lost electrical power. I did not have any indication of electrical problem before that. As a result I did not have electrical power for the radios and transponder. I decided to fly back to the airport inside the sfra [special flight rules area] mainly because it was a day with low clouds; and going to any other airport where I am not sure what conditions existed at the time would be unsafe and could bring me into IMC unplanned and without instrument currency.after safe landing at the airport; I informed and briefed homeland security and ATC by phone.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An Instructor pilot exited the DCA FRZ for a practice flight; lost and then restored his transponder only to later suffer a complete electrical failure and loss of communication. Due to concerns about weather he reentered the SFRA without a clearance and a transponder to land at a VMC airport where he contacted authorities to explain his incursion.
Narrative: On the way out of the FRZ [Flight Restricted Zone]; there was problem with the transponder. ATC did not observe the transponder. As a result I asked and received clearance to go to the nearest airport. On final at the airport; the transponder came alive. I terminated the landing; went around; called ATC and asked to continue to the practice area. Received the clearance and proceed to the practice area.20 min later I lost electrical power. I did not have any indication of electrical problem before that. As a result I did not have electrical power for the radios and transponder. I decided to fly back to the airport inside the SFRA [Special Flight Rules Area] mainly because it was a day with low clouds; and going to any other airport where I am not sure what conditions existed at the time would be unsafe and could bring me into IMC unplanned and without instrument currency.After safe landing at the airport; I informed and briefed Homeland Security and ATC by phone.
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.