20110828018669I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 172N · Underwood, ND · August 28, 2011

Date: August 28, 2011 · 08:00 local
Place: Underwood, ND
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N75552
Reported as: Cessna 172N
Reported engine: Lycoming 0-320 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot stated he was on a cross country flight from mandan ND to minot ND. About 30 minutes into the flight at cruising altitiude of 3800 feet MSL with power setting at 2400 RPM there was a loud bang followed by severe vibrations and ripping of the cowlling from the airframe. The pilot pulled the mixture and pitched the airplane up to slow any windmilling of the remaining propeller. The pilot found a suitable field and landed the aircraft without power in a stubble field. Engine cowling and engine mount were damaged due to unbalanced propeller. However, no other damage occurred to the aircraft as a result of the forced landing.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT STATED HE WAS ON A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT FROM MANDAN ND TO MINOT ND. ABOUT 30 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT AT CRUISING ALTITIUDE OF 3800 FEET MSL WITH POWER SETTING AT 2400 RPM THERE WAS A LOUD BANG FOLLOWED BY SEVERE VIBRATIONS AND RIPPING OF THE COWLLING FROM THE AIRFRAME. THE PILOT PULLED THE MIXTURE AND PITCHED THE AIRPLANE UP TO SLOW ANY WINDMILLING OF THE REMAINING PROPELLER. THE PILOT FOUND A SUITABLE FIELD AND LANDED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT POWER IN A STUBBLE FIELD. ENGINE COWLING AND ENGINE MOUNT WERE DAMAGED DUE TO UNBALANCED PROPELLER. HOWEVER, NO OTHER DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE AIRCRAFT AS A RESULT OF THE FORCED LANDING.