Following the failure of his alternator and loss of communication capability; the pilot of a PA28 wa...

Attributes
ACN	968281
Time
Date	201109
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Tower
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Retractable Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Eagle (F-15)
Component
Aircraft Component	AC Generator/Alternator
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 15 Flight Crew Total 2900 Flight Crew Type 400
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Airspace Violation All Types

Narrative:

We had departed to visit my wife's mother in a nursing home. About one hour into the flight; the alternator on the plane failed and we lost all radios. We were VFR on top; in the clear above the clouds; and I continued my flight since we had plenty of fuel. I decided not to return to our departure airport since the weather was marginal there and in a high traffic area. I was doing my best to avoid the 60 mile radius defining the restricted zone; when I must have flown into the tfr area. I was using my i-pad for navigation since I had no radios. It was a route I had flown before without incident. When the military fighter intercepted us; I thought that I must be in a training area; but when they made a second pass; I then assumed they were trying to contact us. I remembered a hand held backup radio and contacted the jet pilot on 121.5; they asked if I wanted to declare an emergency and I said no; they then asked several questions which I answered. I was then told to contact ZZZ tower and proceed to the airport and land; which we did.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Following the failure of his alternator and loss of communication capability; the Pilot of a PA28 was intercepted by a Military Fighter upon entering a restricted TFR area. The PA28 was directed to land at a nearby airport.

Narrative: We had departed to visit my wife's mother in a nursing home. About one hour into the flight; the alternator on the plane failed and we lost all radios. We were VFR on top; in the clear above the clouds; and I continued my flight since we had plenty of fuel. I decided not to return to our departure airport since the weather was marginal there and in a high traffic area. I was doing my best to avoid the 60 mile radius defining the restricted zone; when I must have flown into the TFR area. I was using my i-Pad for navigation since I had no radios. It was a route I had flown before without incident. When the Military Fighter intercepted us; I thought that I must be in a training area; but when they made a second pass; I then assumed they were trying to contact us. I remembered a hand held backup radio and contacted the jet pilot on 121.5; they asked if I wanted to Declare an Emergency and I said no; They then asked several questions which I answered. I was then told to contact ZZZ Tower and proceed to the airport and land; which we did.

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.

Following the failure of his alternator and loss of communication capability; the pilot of a PA28 was intercepted by a military fighter upon entering a restricted tfr area. The PA28 was directed to land at a nearby airport.