NTSB Factual Report

On May 8, 2014, about 2250 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-235, N8683W, was substantially damaged while landing at Hernando County Airport (BKV), Brooksville, Florida. The airline transport pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Inverness Airport (INF), Inverness, Florida, about 2225. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilots were returning to their home airport following dinner. The flight departed about two hours after sunset, and several minutes after departure, the airplane's lights began to dim. The pilot noted an abnormal current reading on the ammeter. With the destination airport in sight, and only about 20 minutes of flight remaining, the pilot reduced the electrical load; however, within several minutes all electrical power was lost.

Upon reaching the destination airport, the pilot utilized the runway end identifier lights along with the runway's visual approach slope indicator lights to guide the airplane to the runway threshold. Without electrical power, he was unable to use the airplane's radio to activate the other available runway lighting, or utilize a landing light in order to help him further locate the runway after crossing the threshold. The pilot stated that he misjudged the airplane's height above the 7,002-foot-long by 150-foot-wide, concrete runway, and during the landing flare, the airplane impacted the runway from an estimated height of about 4 or 5 feet. Upon touchdown, the airplane veered right and struck a runway distance remaining sign, resulting in substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The nose of the airplane then struck the ground, resulting in damage to the nose landing gear and firewall.

The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed in June 2013, and the airplane had accumulated about 5 flight hours since that time. The pilot, who was also an airframe and powerplant mechanic, examined airplane's electrical system following the accident and noted that the alternator had failed. He also noted during a review of the airplane's maintenance logs that the alternator appeared to have been originally installed in the airplane when it was newly manufactured, about 50 years and more than 2,600 flight hours prior to the accident flight. No maintenance to the alternator itself was documented in the logs. One maintenance log entry dated October 1979 documented the completion of an annual inspection and stated, "Repair alternator adjuster bracket."

A survey of the airports located in the vicinity of the airplane's 20 nautical-mile route of flight showed that with the exception of two airports located within a mode-C veil surrounding a major international airport, the nearest continuously lighted airport was located nearly 90 nautical miles from the mid-point of the 21 nautical mile route.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s loss of directional control while landing at night, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with airport signage. Contributing to the accident was the total loss of electrical power, which necessitated the pilot having to land without the aid of the airplane’s landing lights and some of the available runway lighting.