# Incident 20020906037019I: Cessna 172S, Middletown, PA, September 6, 2002

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 6, 2002, 01:45 local time
- Place: Middletown, PA
- Airport: Harrisburg International Airport-Olmsted
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.2009° N, 76.7292° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Middletown, PA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2009&lon=-76.7292&mi=10
- Aircraft: N682MA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N682MA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172S (registry code 2072439, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172S
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 190 total, 50 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020906037019I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) MR. GORDON ENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT INADVERTENTLY WHILE ENRICHING THE MIXTURE IN PREPARATION FOR LANDING. HE WAS UNAWARE THAT HE ENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT AND THOUGHT HE HAD A FLIGHT CONTROL MALFUNCTION, AND THEREFORE LANDED WITH THE AUTOPILOT ON. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT NOR WAS MR. GORDON INJURED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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