# Incident 20250914013489I: Cessna 172N, Longmont, CO, September 14, 2025

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 14, 2025, 21:25 local time
- Place: Longmont, CO
- Airport: Vance Brand
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1644° N, 105.1636° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at VANCE BRAND (LMO), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1644&lon=-105.1636&mi=10
- Aircraft: N738HD, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N738HD) (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 0-360 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 198 total, 189 in this make and model, 31 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250914013489I

## Narrative

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

THE INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT PLANNED TO COMPLETE THREE TAKEOFFS AND FULL STOP LANDINGS AT KLMO FOR VFR NIGHT CURRENCY. AIRCRAFT HAD 19 GALLONS OF FUEL ON BOARD AND 6 QUARTS OF OIL IN THE ENGINE. EXTERIOR WALK AROUND, ENGINE START, AND RUN-UP CHECKS WERE NORMAL. TAKEOFF ROLL, ROTATION, AND INITIAL CLIMB-OUT WERE UNEVENTFUL. AT APPROXIMATELY 200’ AGL, THE RPMS RAPIDLY DECREASED FROM 2450 TO 1000 AND THEN FLUCTUATED BETWEEN 1000 AND 2450 AT FULL THROTTLE. PIC CYCLED THE THROTTLE AND CHECKED MAGNETOS IN AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE PIC RADIOED CTAF TO REPORT THE ENGINE FAILURE AND THAT HE WAS LANDING IN A NEARBY FIELD. AFTER SAFELY STOPPING, THE PIC SHUT DOWN THE AIRPLANE TO AVOID A POTENTIAL ENGINE FIRE. ANOTHER AIRCRAFT WAS CIRCLING OVERHEAD, AND THE PIC SIGNALED HIS LOCATION USING A HEADLAMP AND PHONE FLASHLIGHT. PIC WALKED TO A NEARBY FARMHOUSE AND REPORTED THE EVENT. SUBSEQUENT FAA INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT FOUND NO DAMAGE SUSTAINED. ORIGINAL O-320 WAS REPLACED BY A LYCOMING O-360 A4M UNDER STC SE2563CE ON 6/15/2016. THE LAST 100 HOUR ENGINE INSPECTION WAS COMPLETED ON 08/08/2025; SPARK PLUGS (4) WERE REPLACED AND CYLINDER COMPRESSION CHECKS WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS. A POST-INCIDENT ENGINE INSPECTION WAS COMPLETED ON 9/25/2025; COMPRESSION, INDUCTION, EXHAUST, PRIMER, CARBURATOR, THROTTLE CONTROLS, RUN-UP AND FLIGHT TEST ALL SATISFACTORY.

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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