Originally Posted by
philc206
Is ( total ) electrical failure a possibility ?
Anything is possible. However I doubt total electrical failure would be sudden. I don't know the DA42 system but at a minimum I'd guess you would have to to lose both alternators and have the battery go flat before you would have total electrical failure.
I haven't read anywhere they made any distress calls, which if true indicates they didn't have a problem they knew about. Having said that they were operating outside of controlled airspace so may have made some calls on the local Taupo frequency.