M-20 F Executive 21
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 51.2; Flight Crew Total 375; Flight Crew Type 192
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe
Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport
Aircraft
[Shortly after takeoff; at] approximately 200 ft. AGL we experienced almost total electrical failure. A few days before; turning on the landing light recycled power to my Garmin GNS530W; all other systems operated normally. My initial thought was that the landing light was on its last legs and drawing higher-than-normal current. Runup was normal and I deactivated the GNS530W for takeoff with the landing light. Gear came up slightly slower than usual and shortly later in the climb the backup radio and transponder died. Immediately we lowered the gear to make sure we had gear down to return to the airport. At that point it became apparent we were at the end of battery power. By midfield downwind we only had the NAV lights and the electro/hydraulic flaps were inop. Following light gun signals we landed uneventfully.Human Factors:- I made one assumption about the landing light and resolved that was the answer. I was wrong and excluded other possibilities.- I worked around the problem with that assumption and it became worse.
Mooney M20 pilot reported returning to departure airport after experiencing 'almost total' electrical failure.