to the plane confirmed it. The alternator had seized, and the belt was
still attached. The black smoke and burning smell was the rubber from
the belt. The RPM drop may have been cause by the belt briefly
cinching up. It also explained the low voltage light as well.
I went home and enjoyed a few cold beers. The worst part was not
knowing the problem or what was going to happen next. The plane was
flying the next morning, and me, in the same plane the very next week.


I recently had my alternator seize up in my truck, preventing me from
starting it. I intially thought it was a problem with the clutch not
disengaging because I had just had the clutch replaced, but it turned out
that the alternator was the culprit. I previously had only experienced
diode failures in alternators, so this was the first time that I had seen
bearings seize up. It may not be terribly common, but it can happen. It
is definitely freakier to have it happen to you in an airplane in flight.
The fertile imagination can come up with all kinds of terrible scenarios
when smoke puffs out of the cowl and the RPM drops! Good job keeping your
cool, I hope that you didn't have far to go home to change your underwear...

Dean