# Accident 20171224018669A: Cessna 172N, Union Mills, NC, December 24, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 24, 2017, 16:00 local time
- Place: Union Mills, NC
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.4906° N, 82.0589° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.4906&lon=-82.0589&mi=10
- Aircraft: N91SP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N91SP-2020-04-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172N (registry code 2072434, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172n) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172N
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O-360
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 6,700 total, 3,400 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA18TA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18TA059) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20171224018669A

## Narrative

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

PILOT STATEMENT

^MICHAEL SPINA 228 WESTERN MEANDER UNION MILLS. NC 28167^

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN WITH THE FAA,

DECEMBER 25, 2017

ON DECEMBER 241TH, 2017 AROUND 3:00. I TOOK OFF FROM KFQD - RUTHERFORD COUNTY AIRPORT. I FLEW AROUND THE COUNTY IN VFR CONDITIONS. I AM BUILDING A PRIVATE AIRSTRIP FOR MYSELF AND WANTED TO REVIEW THE APPROACHES FROM THE AIR DURING MY FLIGHT. AFTER A FEW APP ROACHES, I

PUT FULL POWER TO THE AIRCRAFT AND THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND LOST POWER. MY ONLY COURSE OF ACTION

WAS TO ATTEMPT A LANDING AND PUT THE PLANE DOWN AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE ON MY LAND. I BOUNCED AND WENT OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD/RUNWAY I' M BUILDING. I WAS THE ONLY ONE ON BOARD, AND I HAVE MINOR INJURIES.  I'M VERY LUCKY   TO BE IN THE STATE I'M IN.  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, I CONTACTED RANDY PATTERSON AT RUTHERFORD COUNTY AIRPORT TO CONTACT THE FAA ON MY BEHALF.

^MICHAEL SPINA^

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA18TA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18TA059), Dec 24, 2017: Cessna 172 (N91SP), Union Mills, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat in weather conditions conducive to serious carburetor icing, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and a subsequent forced landing.

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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