Small Aircraft; Low Wing; 1 Eng; Fixed Gear
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 80; Flight Crew Total 496; Flight Crew Type 100
Troubleshooting; Training / Qualification; Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface; Confusion; Communication Breakdown; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Diverted; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Release Refused / Aircraft Not Accepted; General Maintenance Action
Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Procedure; Aircraft
Prior to beginning pre-flight to conduct an instrument rating training flight with a student; there was a discrepancy written up on the plane we were assigned to use. Earlier that day; an instrument flight had been conducted and the instructor reported an electrical malfunction to include the radios flashing on and off during flight. The discrepancy was then signed off as having been repaired by Maintenance; operations tested and ready for flight. We decided to use the plane and check the ammeter prior to departing. People on board were myself; my student and an observer who was another student of mine also training to do instrument rating. After run-up; the ammeter appeared to be functioning. The flight began during daylight hours around XA45; sunset was projected to be around XB30 and our flight was scheduled to return around XC30. We flew the RNAV; then proceeded to do the VOR XX; then were vectored for the RNAV YYL and had requested one more approach the ILSYYL. Over 1.5 hours into the flight; after completing the RNAV YYL; we were cleared for the option and I instructed my student to conduct a touch and go. Upon completing this; we took off and were getting vectors to come around and do the ILS YYL. We flew south of the airport as directed by Approach; and then were vectored to continue a right turn to intercept the final approach course for the ILS YYL. The last instruction we were given was to fly heading to intercept the final approach course and maintain altitude until intercepting the course and that we were cleared for the approach. I was doing the radio communications for the flight and tried to respond to the Controller that we would follow his instructions. The radio lights began to flicker and the Controller was unable to hear my response. I could hear him trying to contact me multiple times and I continued to try and reach him and respond. In the meantime I instructed my student to turn and intercept the final approach course. The radio and all lights in the cockpit went off. The GPS GARMIN 430 eventually came back on but would spend a few seconds in start up mode and then shut off again. We could not read the instrument dials nor could we hear Approach or each other using head sets. Both my student and I checked for any circuit breakers to have popped; and I turned the avionics switch off and on but nothing changed. I yelled at my student to go visual and land the plane. He said we need to look for lights from the Tower. I looked in the direction that I know the Tower to be in but I could not make out the lights distinguishing the Tower; there were many white and red lights spread out and surrounding the area I knew Tower was located. We could not get landing lights to turn on but Runway YYL at [the Class C] had all the ALS lights functioning and my student executed a good landing. We taxied further down the runway and I was thinking where we could go fast that we could get help. I knew P5 would put us right in front of the Tower and also put us on a path to taxi to a FBO and they have ramp personnel that I hoped would help us. We stopped after getting off of the runway and tried again to get the electronics to work. The lights blinked a couple times and the GPS continued to go through the self test for few seconds but would shut off and start over again. A Ramp Agent from the FBO had been listening to the communications and walked outside and directed us to a parking spot in front of their hangar. We shut down the aircraft and I called the head of our flight school to tell him what happened. He said he would come and pick us up. Flight Operations drove up and I was instructed to give TRACON a call to tell them what happened. I called the number right then and I explained to the individual on the other line that we had a complete electrical failure; and could not even talk to each other in the airplane. He asked me if I saw him give me red lights from the Tower; and I told him I did not because I was dealing with having to be yelling in order to communicate with my student to land the airplane when we could not even read our airspeed or altitude. I did not want to be flying around at night in Class C airspace with unlit airplane and no panel lights and without the extremely bright features of the ALS for Runway YYL it would have been very difficult to negotiate another lap around the field to land. This was my first experience with electrical failure and lost communications and I have been flight instructing for just over three months so my experience was also lacking in trusting myself to fly around with two students on board in busy airspace. The next morning the school called me in early to go pick up the plane. I was told the master solenoid had failed and the battery was also bad. I was unable to come in right away and someone else went to pick up the plane. When I got to the school I verbally informed the head of the school that I was giving my two weeks notice and that I was unwilling to fly any airplanes in his fleet as I believed they were unsafe. This was the 4th issue or circumstance regarding the maintenance of the airplanes at the school within the past week that I personally experienced or witnessed. I told him I had tried to speak to the Chief Pilot regarding certain C150s the school uses to allow students to hour build. I refused to sign off students at night to fly them because there are no panel lights. The Chief Pilot told me that the planes were built in 1970's and regulations do not require them to have all the lights and instruments that are required of planes built at a later date. I told him that disturbs me because this is an area of heavy flight training not to mention busy commercial airspace surrounding this part of Florida. He said that getting a modification to update the planes would cost too much.Other issues noted below regarding maintenance issues: The individual in charge of the school told me that I am entitled to my opinion; but he believes that the planes are perfectly safe for training; and that this type of thing is normal and just happens at times. He also asked me to not speak about my opinion regarding the safety of the planes to the other students. I assume it was because it would scare them. For the rest of the day I gave two lessons in the school simulator; and was asked to sign off a student to do solo training in the pattern at our home airport. I checked his endorsements and the weather which were fine; but after signing my name in the tech log to allow him to fly I felt physically sick about letting him fly an airplane that I was not confident about its condition to fly. The next day I informed my students I would not be giving any more lessons and the day after that I turned in my resignation and my keys to the facility of the school. I no longer work for this school. The student that was flying the plane also left the school the day before I officially resigned.Maintenance issues: The day after I spoke with the Chief Pilot about the C150s; my student got stuck at an outfield flying the C150 after picking up parts for the school as he could not start the engine. He called me to inform me he would not be back in time to be at my lesson due to the plane not starting. The Chief Pilot had to fly out there with a Mechanic to replace the battery. The next day; another one of my students flew the plane and had a radio malfunction were he could not change the frequency. He was enroute and when flying around [Class D] airspace enroute he was monitoring [Class D] Tower frequency as I had instructed him. He was proceeding on to [his destination] but he could not switch the radio frequency. He turned around and contacted [Class D] Tower and asked them to contact our home airport and request for him to land as he could not reach them on the frequency. [Class D] Tower was very helpful and vectored him and he got green lights from Tower when he entered their airspace. I found out later this has happened before with other students and flight instructors and they have all had to return to the airfield squawking 7600. Prior to my night instrument flight; I also had an issue with another plane where the yoke at one point would not fully deflect in the aft position. Prior to flight the controls were checked multiple times with no issue. But landing my student could not flare and we had a flat landing. When we exited the plane I had him pull on the stick and we compared the elevator deflection with the deflection of the plane parked next to it that had the elevator locked in the fully aft position. The elevator on our plane was obviously being stopped somehow from fully deflecting and we wrote it up as a discrepancy. Again; I found out later; upon learning that the plane was fixed and signed off rather quickly; that this has also happened multiple times.
A Flight Instructor resigned from the flight school where she was working because; after having an electrical system malfunction at night; she felt the school's poor aircraft maintenance program put instructors and students at risk.