Security in Aviation; The System's Growing Vulnerabilities to Cyber Terrorism

 Electrical System - What happens when an airplane loses electricity? 

    

    A light general aviation airplane does not rely solely on electronics in order to fly, however, the airplane's electronics are of importance to it's capabilities and is generally most important under Instrument Flight Rules, at night, or while operating from a towered airport or in controlled airspace. While under Instrument Flight Rules, or IFR, one must be able to use the electricity in the airplane to communicate with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and navigate without visual reference to the surface via navigational aids. A GPS will use electricity, a VOR will use electricity, and so will an NDB. While flying at night, it is imperative that the pilot be able to see both inside the airplane and out, both under VFR and IFR. In controlled airspace, the controllers will issue you instructions over the radios which in turn require electricity to receive and transmit. The one phase of flight that does not really require any electrical system whatsoever is day VFR in uncontrolled airspace which, lucky for most light general aviation pilots, is where the majority of us tend to stay. 

    How might an airplane lose electricity? One way includes an alternator failure. The alternator, or generator in some older airplanes, has the same function in an airplane as it has in a car or truck. When the engine is running, it provides electricity to both the battery and the system as whole which runs things like avionics, communications, lights, flaps, landing gear, fuel gauges, and more. These alternators successfully create electricity by electromagnetic induction which involves a coil of wire and a magnet moving across the coils, generating electric current (BYJU's, 2020). Some are gear-driven, some are belt-driven. If an alternator belt snaps mid-flight for any reason at all, it is a surefire way to completely lose your electrical system. The battery, which is used as a backup to the alternator, a way to start the airplane, and a way to operate electrical components while the airplane is on the ground, will only stay charged for so long. Depending on electrical load, the battery may last for an hour or it may last a solid 10 minutes. 

    If this unfortunate event happens to you the next time you are out flying, let us hope that you are not operating under IFR, at night, in controlled airspace, or all three. But if you are, I recommend you treat the battery nicely while you still have it. By this I mean you should begin by shedding the load from your battery and conserving its energy for the most critical phases of flight. This technique is called load shedding, which will conserve the battery by decreasing the electrical load being placed upon it. Next, you should divert to the nearest airport or land as soon as practicable. If at night, I recommend having backup flashlights, headlamps, batteries, and a handheld radio if possible. For airports that are unattended, the handheld radio will come in nicely when you are ready to land and need pilot controlled lighting to be activated over common traffic advisory frequency. If you don't, you may be landing in the equivalent of a blackhole! 

BYJU'S. (2020, August 27). What is electromagnetic induction? - definition, principle, application. BYJUS. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://byjus.com/physics/electromagnetic-induction/.