12 for 12! Had an electrical failure on a flight during my training, just finished a missed approach in the instrument part of my PPL. Both myself and my CFI had backup radios, but we could not reach either of them. The alternator was the culprit in our case as well. I learned from that day that a backup radio is useless if you can't reach it.
I had this one. 20 miles out from the airport in a rented 172, I smelled electrical smoke. I've done electrical work for decades, I knew that smell immediately. I killed the master, cabin vents were already open. Got close to the airport, I turned everything off except the com radio. Turned the master on, made a quick call on the CTAF, then master off again and landed.
This is why I keep a handheld radio in my flight bag. Leave the master off, plug in the handheld, communicate and land. :) Thanks for that suggestion Jason!
12 for 12 good trouble shooting advice. I hope to never ever have this issue…. Also good to save towers number on your mobile phone and learn your light signals!
12 for 12. I love the idea of a handheld radio for backup. I’ve lost comms twice before my first solo, so from early on I’ve been acutely aware of the need for backup systems. Specifically, what if it is night and you need to turn the lights on at a non-towered field with no electric running? That would be a white knuckle landing for sure. Thank you Jason for helping to make each pilot a safer pilot. Keep up the great work!
I had an alternator wire go up in smoke under the hood of my 67 Dodge truck, that was scary enough and I was on solid ground 😬, was able to save it by quickly ripping the battery ground cable off
12 for 12! I never leave the ground in my plane without my backup radio. Good comments on older planes being upgraded. Your right Jason, by doing all these upgrades we can, if not properly installed, cause some major issues. Great series!
12 for 12. Early in my flying experience I had an alternator failure at night on a short flight in an older plane without annunciation. Things got dim and then the radio stopped working…no smoke and the battery was draining quickly. I now carry a backup radio. Fortunately this was a live and learn experience.
12/12 in flight fire ...cabin fire is the scariest. Smoke in the cabin is not something I hope to deal with. Either way, gotta be ready just in case. Thanks Jason!
12 for 12! A wise older pilot friend of mine told me to always carry a backup radio, so I would borrow his during training. I got my own handheld for Christmas! Thank you for talking about how to troubleshoot electrical fires. I’m going to go back to my POH and review.
I had a G1000 avionics master switch go bad this year on a CAP 182. Sizzle and smell and intermittent avionics was the telltale. Thankfully it was on the ground. My philosophy is that there are always more wrenches, parts, and mechanics on the ground. Get the plane down to troubleshoot. Thanks for the video!
12/12. Handheld radio has removed a huge level of anxiety since fly often in congested space. Also great listening to tower while doing pre-flight to get "feel" of airport activity.
12/12 I purchased the handheld you recommended from one of your previous videos. Never leave home without it. I also recommend having the adapter installed so you can immediately hook up to your headset.
Jason I had a similar electrical problem with smoke in the cabin of my Commander 114. It was the fuel pump failing and the circuit breaker was meant to be in the switch which is unique on the Commanders and costs about $300 whereas a Piper switch which has a separate circuit breaker costs about $80. A previous owner took a cheap shortcut which left me with a melted power wire and smoke in the cabin! It was scary at the time but we shut off the master and landed safely.
12 for 12 in 2024! I experienced an electrical fire on a training flight. We were entering the pattern at the time and I thought I was smelling a farmer or someone below burning grass below us. We closed off the ventilation and the saw a thin trail of smoke rising up out the panel on my side. My instructor took over, made a radio call, shut off the master, and landed the plane. It was a bad clock/USB charger that shorted out. I will never forget it!
12 for 12. All the while I've been thinking having a backup radio would be the single most useful tool in such a situation..being able to communicate to atc and/or other aircrafts out there adds a layer of safety to the situation. Great content Jason
Flying across Lake Erie to clear customs and lost electrics, had a handheld radio with external antenna, landed safely. Replaced alternator at FBO, flew another 60 miles and same thing happened again. Decided to return to home to get fixed. Eventually it was master breaker was faulty
12/12 had an alternator failure 20 hrs into training , glad cfi was with me no issue but nice to have someone there first time something like that happens .
12/12. Always heard with a fire, land immediately! I would declare an emergency and dive to the nearest runway. In IMC, you'll probably need your GPS and COM to communicate, so turning off the master immediately may not be the best solution in that situation. In a bad fire, it may be the only immediate action to take. Having a way to mark the non-essential breakers and pulling them may be better if time allows.
I had to chuckle when you said your 72 plane was a Frankenstein. We have a 58 Cessna 172 with a mixture of fuses and circuit breakers. The instrument panel is still pretty much the same as originally equipped with a few upgrades. I’m not sure if old and simple is better or not. We’ve not had any issues to date and carry a handheld radio as backup. 12 for 12 today, enjoy your videos.
12 for 12. In that instance, master off, grab the handled radio from the back of the copilot seat, Foreflight for nav and situation awareness, swimming googles on the eyes to the smoke.
12 4 12, My one and only electrical event happened two years ago after retiring from the airlines flying a piper archer and the electronic cooling fan failed right after takeoff and it was nighttime. I just did a quick turn back to the field and landed. Glad I didn’t have to go through that emergency checklist. But I remember as a flight engineer, one of the hardest check rides was having an electrical fire and going through that on the 727 was quite an experience, even if it was only in the simulator.
12/12 - but I have had to catch up on other days. My first supplementary purchase when I started training was a PJ2 radio (less $300) and I have only needed to rely on it once. Having it readily accessible that day made everything else go smoothly. I recommend everyone get a backup radio.
12 for 12. I was ending a test flight on a 737 and on short final one rear panel in the cockpit started to smoke. A loose terminal moved slightly and made contact with another bore. Just as said, breakers were popped out and we landed quickly. Thankfully no major incident and was fixed easily.
12 for 12. I do have a handheld radio in my console, but I have also created a laminated guide easily visible from the left seat for all breaker functions and affixed it immediately adjacent to the breaker panel..
12/12 backup radio is a great idea to keep in the back pack. Otherwise, brush up on those light signals from the tower. Flashing red means cleared to land, right? 🙂
12 for 12 Been there done that, not an emergency I hope to ever deal with again, ended up being something else, but your advice is spot on. Thanks Jason
12/12. I am going to make a quick check list sheet for the circuit breakers so i do not have to flip through the ops book when trying to trouble shoot an in air Emergency.
12412...great information. Happy to report I've never experienced this situation. However, I did have a wire break on my generator (older airplane). All the electrical instruments slowly went dark. My handheld radio came in handy that day.
Thank You!!!!!!!!!! Master off and then pull out portable radio with jacks that allow you to plug in your head set...and put the extra battery within easy reach :>).
around 4 years back I had a good friend just took off from the Airport and around 3000 ft, the cockpit started to fill with smoke according to the tower. Moments later he jumped from the plane to his death has he had no parachute of course. He probably didn't go through the inflight electrical you taught in this video.
Training this for my PPL next week and can you believe it, my CFI has never shown me how to disable the Radio and VOR/DME stack. We’ve also never done Engine Fires During Startup (that’s the most complicated emergency procedure). I would have totally been disapproved because this learning gap had I not advocated for myself
12 for 12: Another great decision making video. Having this knowledge well before the emergency saves valuable time in responding correctly to reverse the trends.
Handheld radio, 121.5 and land. I would not troubleshoot if there is a smoke. In case of IFR, use iPAD and handheld radio, 121.5 and land. Troubleshooting may break more things..
One thing to think about - if you smell smoke and have to turn off the master at night, how are you going to turn on pilot controlled runway lights? Use your handheld of course! But you might then discover that a one-half battery indication on the handheld (that you checked before the flight, and thought was sufficient power) actually means that the radio dies when you hit the transmit button. Ask me how I know. 😂
12 out of 12 done. If you have a passenger with you then by all means take advantage of that. One thing you can do during a long cross-country flight is to have that passenger pick up the checklists and together review emergency procedures. Not only is a great refresher for the pilot but also a passenger can feel more at ease when assisting to an emergency instead of being a worried bystander. Also, a good pre-flight emergency briefing for all passengers is always a good practice.
Great stuff Jason. I'd touch on a couple further thoughts regarding "troubleshooting" in flight malfunctions and circuit breaker/fuse resets. The FAA has told operators in the airline world it considers active "troubleshooting" in flight and the re-setting of tripped circuit breakers to be only available as an extension of a pilots emergency authority. In other words, If your finding yourself doing either, you should also be declaring an emergency and landing at the nearest suitable airport. While this is a legal requirement for airline guys I don't believe it is the case for part 91 operations. Knowing this however does give rise to some follow up questions we might think about: Do I really need that system that caused a tripped breaker for the safe completion of the flight? Is it wise to reset a device in flight whose sole purpose is to protect the aircraft from the heat generated by excess current flow, especially if that failure has already generated enough heat to smell or smoke? If I'm troubleshooting a mechanical or electrical malfunction in flight, at what point does it distract from my primary obligation to fly the aircraft? It's good to have solid knowledge of system architecture and function because it can mean the difference between a safe arrival back on terra firma and something less desirable; but would troubleshooting these failures be best left to a certified mechanic once safely on the ground? Like much of ADM there are few hard and fast rules for the infinite varieties of scenarios we can come up with. Just a few added questions I feel pilots should consider if they find themselves facing inflight system malfunctions.
This recently happened here at my home airport KSPK. Two people made it down to the runway and out of the plane before the plane was completely destroyed by fire. (12/12)
12/12. Great video, Jason. I had an electrical failure once while in IMC. Fortunately, there was no fire, just a blown circuit breaker which reset with no problem. I was very glad I had my handheld, was with my instructor, and close to my home airport.
12/12 i always carry my handheld radio when flying. I have a headset adapter and they claim that the radio has been tested to work from 70 miles away. Always have a backup to your backup.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
12 for 12 passed my Private Pilot Checkride yesterday!
Congratulations dude! It’s life changing!
Welcome to the aviation family, congratulations! I hope you won’t stop your learning there.
Awesome, congrats. Got mine in a couple weeks!!!
How long did it take compa?
Excellent!!! 👌🏼
12 for 12. Passed my FAA Private Knowledge Test yesterday. Thank you for putting out such great information.
12/12. I was always taught if you have a cockpit fire get to the ground as fast as you can, anywhere. The smoke is first warning.
12 for 12! Had an electrical failure on a flight during my training, just finished a missed approach in the instrument part of my PPL. Both myself and my CFI had backup radios, but we could not reach either of them. The alternator was the culprit in our case as well. I learned from that day that a backup radio is useless if you can't reach it.
I had this one. 20 miles out from the airport in a rented 172, I smelled electrical smoke. I've done electrical work for decades, I knew that smell immediately. I killed the master, cabin vents were already open. Got close to the airport, I turned everything off except the com radio. Turned the master on, made a quick call on the CTAF, then master off again and landed.
This is why I keep a handheld radio in my flight bag. Leave the master off, plug in the handheld, communicate and land. :) Thanks for that suggestion Jason!
12 for 12 good trouble shooting advice. I hope to never ever have this issue…. Also good to save towers number on your mobile phone and learn your light signals!
12 for 12. I love the idea of a handheld radio for backup. I’ve lost comms twice before my first solo, so from early on I’ve been acutely aware of the need for backup systems. Specifically, what if it is night and you need to turn the lights on at a non-towered field with no electric running? That would be a white knuckle landing for sure. Thank you Jason for helping to make each pilot a safer pilot. Keep up the great work!
I had an alternator wire go up in smoke under the hood of my 67 Dodge truck, that was scary enough and I was on solid ground 😬, was able to save it by quickly ripping the battery ground cable off
12 for 12! I never leave the ground in my plane without my backup radio. Good comments on older planes being upgraded. Your right Jason, by doing all these upgrades we can, if not properly installed, cause some major issues. Great series!
12 for 12. Early in my flying experience I had an alternator failure at night on a short flight in an older plane without annunciation. Things got dim and then the radio stopped working…no smoke and the battery was draining quickly. I now carry a backup radio. Fortunately this was a live and learn experience.
12/12 in flight fire ...cabin fire is the scariest. Smoke in the cabin is not something I hope to deal with. Either way, gotta be ready just in case. Thanks Jason!
12 for 12! A wise older pilot friend of mine told me to always carry a backup radio, so I would borrow his during training. I got my own handheld for Christmas! Thank you for talking about how to troubleshoot electrical fires. I’m going to go back to my POH and review.
12 for 12 here! We always gotta stay on top of those emergencies. I have a backup handheld radio with me.
I had a G1000 avionics master switch go bad this year on a CAP 182. Sizzle and smell and intermittent avionics was the telltale. Thankfully it was on the ground. My philosophy is that there are always more wrenches, parts, and mechanics on the ground. Get the plane down to troubleshoot. Thanks for the video!
12/12. Handheld radio has removed a huge level of anxiety since fly often in congested space. Also great listening to tower while doing pre-flight to get "feel" of airport activity.
12/12 I purchased the handheld you recommended from one of your previous videos. Never leave home without it. I also recommend having the adapter installed so you can immediately hook up to your headset.
12 for 12, Thanks Jason still here!!
12 for 12!! Celebrating my birthday today in the skies 😌❤️🛫🙏🏼 great informative video as always.
Jason I had a similar electrical problem with smoke in the cabin of my Commander 114. It was the fuel pump failing and the circuit breaker was meant to be in the switch which is unique on the Commanders and costs about $300 whereas a Piper switch which has a separate circuit breaker costs about $80. A previous owner took a cheap shortcut which left me with a melted power wire and smoke in the cabin! It was scary at the time but we shut off the master and landed safely.
12 for 12 in 2024!
I experienced an electrical fire on a training flight. We were entering the pattern at the time and I thought I was smelling a farmer or someone below burning grass below us. We closed off the ventilation and the saw a thin trail of smoke rising up out the panel on my side. My instructor took over, made a radio call, shut off the master, and landed the plane. It was a bad clock/USB charger that shorted out. I will never forget it!
12 for 12. All the while I've been thinking having a backup radio would be the single most useful tool in such a situation..being able to communicate to atc and/or other aircrafts out there adds a layer of safety to the situation. Great content Jason
12 for 12. To be open about it, an in flight fire scares me way more than an engine failure. Thank you, Jason for these videos. Keep up the good work.
It should.
12 for 12. Make sure the handheld radio is easily accessible too, doesn’t do you any good buried in the back seat under all your camping gear.
12 for 12! Roger That! Thanks Jason
Flying across Lake Erie to clear customs and lost electrics, had a handheld radio with external antenna, landed safely. Replaced alternator at FBO, flew another 60 miles and same thing happened again. Decided to return to home to get fixed. Eventually it was master breaker was faulty
12 for 12! Another thing to add to the list to practice with my students and practice for myself!
12 4 12 - Excellent Topic and a good reminder
12 for 12, very important exercise in PPL training and it’s great it’s in the basic section so it’s early on before advanced manoeuvres training
12/12 had an alternator failure 20 hrs into training , glad cfi was with me no issue but nice to have someone there first time something like that happens .
12/12. Always heard with a fire, land immediately! I would declare an emergency and dive to the nearest runway. In IMC, you'll probably need your GPS and COM to communicate, so turning off the master immediately may not be the best solution in that situation. In a bad fire, it may be the only immediate action to take. Having a way to mark the non-essential breakers and pulling them may be better if time allows.
I had to chuckle when you said your 72 plane was a Frankenstein. We have a 58 Cessna 172 with a mixture of fuses and circuit breakers. The instrument panel is still pretty much the same as originally equipped with a few upgrades. I’m not sure if old and simple is better or not. We’ve not had any issues to date and carry a handheld radio as backup. 12 for 12 today, enjoy your videos.
12 for 12. In that instance, master off, grab the handled radio from the back of the copilot seat, Foreflight for nav and situation awareness, swimming googles on the eyes to the smoke.
12 4 12,
My one and only electrical event happened two years ago after retiring from the airlines flying a piper archer and the electronic cooling fan failed right after takeoff and it was nighttime. I just did a quick turn back to the field and landed. Glad I didn’t have to go through that emergency checklist. But I remember as a flight engineer, one of the hardest check rides was having an electrical fire and going through that on the 727 was quite an experience, even if it was only in the simulator.
12 for 12. I love this series.
12 from 12 Sir 👍👍😇 ( Aviate, Navigate, Communication ) 🧐👍👍 OUTSTANDING 👍😇👌Cheers 🍻
12 for 12 - Great stuff MzeroA
12-4-12! Excellent topic! Smoke in the cockpit! Slow down and think… in the middle of a panic!😳
12/12 - but I have had to catch up on other days. My first supplementary purchase when I started training was a PJ2 radio (less $300) and I have only needed to rely on it once. Having it readily accessible that day made everything else go smoothly. I recommend everyone get a backup radio.
12 for 12! Great information.
12 for 12. This has been a quick January keep them coming.
12 for 12. I was ending a test flight on a 737 and on short final one rear panel in the cockpit started to smoke. A loose terminal moved slightly and made contact with another bore. Just as said, breakers were popped out and we landed quickly. Thankfully no major incident and was fixed easily.
12 for 12. I do have a handheld radio in my console, but I have also created a laminated guide easily visible from the left seat for all breaker functions and affixed it immediately adjacent to the breaker panel..
12 for 12, thank you Jason!
Another great video. It got me thinking that /i need to spend time reading my POH. 12 for 12, Thanks them coming.
12 for 12. Great discussion.
12 for 12. Jason, I fear an engine-out scenario, but I'm absolutely _terrified_ of having an electrical smoke/fire in my cockpit.
Please post a full video of the 7700 with 23MZ. Loving the safer pilot series.
12/12 backup radio is a great idea to keep in the back pack. Otherwise, brush up on those light signals from the tower. Flashing red means cleared to land, right? 🙂
12/12. Great video on managing electrical emergency issues in flight.
12 for 12. Checked my POH just to be sure. 1975 172M, electrical fire in flight first step - Master Switch Off!!
12 for 12
Been there done that, not an emergency I hope to ever deal with again, ended up being something else, but your advice is spot on.
Thanks Jason
12 for 12... I just went over fire-associated emergency procedures for our planes for our flying club. Know your POH (especially section 3)
12 for 12. Great information.
12 for 12 Great idea isolating the circuit breaker.
12 for 12 love this video. Will get a handheld radio after listening to this
12/12
Instructor taught me...
75... Man with knife
76... Radio Fix
77... Go to heaven
12 for 12 have nice weekend!!!
12 of 12! Lots of good info!
12-12 - I would say if possible. Get COM1 and transponder up. That way you can communicate with ATC or center while they can vector you.
12 of 12. Thanks! Going to review my check list and POH!
12 for 12, another great video. Thanks
Twelve for twelve, thank you!
12/12. I am going to make a quick check list sheet for the circuit breakers so i do not have to flip through the ops book when trying to trouble shoot an in air Emergency.
12412...great information. Happy to report I've never experienced this situation. However, I did have a wire break on my generator (older airplane). All the electrical instruments slowly went dark. My handheld radio came in handy that day.
🔥 12 for 12 ⚡️🔋
Jason, what is your recommendation for if you have an aviation approved fire extinguisher available in the airplane?
Thank You!!!!!!!!!! Master off and then pull out portable radio with jacks that allow you to plug in your head set...and put the extra battery within easy reach :>).
12 of 12…. Great videos these…makes us think and plan
Thanks to you Jason, we're " Always Learning " Bob. 12/12
12 for 12 hope I never have to deal with that type of situation as I fly a '63 182 and also did the panel and you just never know. Stay vigilant
around 4 years back I had a good friend just took off from the Airport and around 3000 ft, the cockpit started to fill with smoke according to the tower. Moments later he jumped from the plane to his death has he had no parachute of course. He probably didn't go through the inflight electrical you taught in this video.
Training this for my PPL next week and can you believe it, my CFI has never shown me how to disable the Radio and VOR/DME stack. We’ve also never done Engine Fires During Startup (that’s the most complicated emergency procedure). I would have totally been disapproved because this learning gap had I not advocated for myself
12 for 12!
Great Information!!
Thank You Jason & MZeroA Team!
ET
12/12 Catching up. Good review for electrical problems.
12 for 12: Another great decision making video. Having this knowledge well before the emergency saves valuable time in responding correctly to reverse the trends.
12 of 12 (catching up!).
Handheld radio, 121.5 and land. I would not troubleshoot if there is a smoke. In case of IFR, use iPAD and handheld radio, 121.5 and land. Troubleshooting may break more things..
12 for 12 Jas!💯
12 for 12 This is very informative, gonna need it for my checkride.
12 for 12. I can imagine a handheld radio could be useful in a wide range of emergencies. Thanks Jason, for this video. You were on fire today.
12-12. Great lesson today.
DrNathan23 is 12 for 12. I have a handheld radio just for that reason! Great information.
One thing to think about - if you smell smoke and have to turn off the master at night, how are you going to turn on pilot controlled runway lights? Use your handheld of course! But you might then discover that a one-half battery indication on the handheld (that you checked before the flight, and thought was sufficient power) actually means that the radio dies when you hit the transmit button. Ask me how I know. 😂
12 out of 12 done. If you have a passenger with you then by all means take advantage of that. One thing you can do during a long cross-country flight is to have that passenger pick up the checklists and together review emergency procedures. Not only is a great refresher for the pilot but also a passenger can feel more at ease when assisting to an emergency instead of being a worried bystander. Also, a good pre-flight emergency briefing for all passengers is always a good practice.
12 for 12. Thank you for the video
12 of 12 I don't think there is anything more important than practicing emergency procedures. Let's hope we never have the need to use them.
Great stuff Jason. I'd touch on a couple further thoughts regarding "troubleshooting" in flight malfunctions and circuit breaker/fuse resets. The FAA has told operators in the airline world it considers active "troubleshooting" in flight and the re-setting of tripped circuit breakers to be only available as an extension of a pilots emergency authority. In other words, If your finding yourself doing either, you should also be declaring an emergency and landing at the nearest suitable airport. While this is a legal requirement for airline guys I don't believe it is the case for part 91 operations. Knowing this however does give rise to some follow up questions we might think about: Do I really need that system that caused a tripped breaker for the safe completion of the flight? Is it wise to reset a device in flight whose sole purpose is to protect the aircraft from the heat generated by excess current flow, especially if that failure has already generated enough heat to smell or smoke? If I'm troubleshooting a mechanical or electrical malfunction in flight, at what point does it distract from my primary obligation to fly the aircraft? It's good to have solid knowledge of system architecture and function because it can mean the difference between a safe arrival back on terra firma and something less desirable; but would troubleshooting these failures be best left to a certified mechanic once safely on the ground? Like much of ADM there are few hard and fast rules for the infinite varieties of scenarios we can come up with. Just a few added questions I feel pilots should consider if they find themselves facing inflight system malfunctions.
12:12 catchup!
12 for 12 here. Great video.
What if smoke filled the cabin and lost visuals on the instruments or can't read manual?
This recently happened here at my home airport KSPK. Two people made it down to the runway and out of the plane before the plane was completely destroyed by fire. (12/12)
12 for 12! I feel that this topic isn’t talked about as much as it should be, thanks Jason!
12/12. Great video, Jason. I had an electrical failure once while in IMC. Fortunately, there was no fire, just a blown circuit breaker which reset with no problem. I was very glad I had my handheld, was with my instructor, and close to my home airport.
12/12 thanks Jason
12/12 i always carry my handheld radio when flying. I have a headset adapter and they claim that the radio has been tested to work from 70 miles away. Always have a backup to your backup.
12 for 12. I always carry a handheld for exactly that reason.
12 for 12! Definitely something to think about, and hopefully never need. Another great video Jason!
Thanks, 12 for 12
12 4 12! Hanging in there!