Sept. 24, Orlando, Fla. / Cessna 172RG

At about 14:28 EDT, a Cessna 172RG crashed on landing at Orlando Executive Airport following a loss of electrical power. No one was injured. The instructor and student pilot were not injured. The flight had left St. Petersburg about 50 minutes earlier. The instructor said that shortly after takeoff the airplane showed signs of electrical problems but he thought he was only having radio problems and continued the flight in accordance with established NORDO procedures. He said he did not troubleshoot the problem or try to shed electrical load. When preparing to land, he experienced a total electrical failure when he selected flaps and gear down. He visually checked the left gear but did not ask the student to check the right gear, which witnesses said was trailing. He did not attempt to pump the gear down manually. Although runway 25 was in use, the flight instructor elected to use runway 07, encountering a tailwind. He landed long and the gear collapsed. The aircraft exited the runway and struck the VASI lights at the approach end of runway 25.