20260530005319I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Cessna 172 · Little Falls, MN · May 30, 2026

Date: May 30, 2026 · 12:39 local
Place: Little Falls, MN
Airport: Little Falls/Morrison County-L
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N6717A
Reported as: Cessna 172
Reported engine: Continental 0-300 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Student
Pilot’s flight hours: 38 total

N6717ARegistered now · Cessna 172S/N 28817 · Built 1956 Airframe modelCessna 172 Engine modelContinental 0-300 seriesReciprocating

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.

The student pilot was two and one half hours in his solo cross-country flight and five miles out from his home airport at 2,500 feet altitude when the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot enriched the fuel mixture, adjusted throttle, and turned on carburetor heat in an attempt to restart the engine but he could not. Descending to five hundred feet he realized that he was not heading for a field but a swamp to land in. Shortly after touchdown in the soft bog the aircraft rolled forward and slowly inverted over the nose. The pilot was not injured. The aircraft sustained minor damage to the propeller and engine cowling.

As the FAA filed it

THE STUDENT PILOT WAS TWO AND ONE HALF HOURS IN HIS SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT AND FIVE MILES OUT FROM HIS HOME AIRPORT AT 2,500 FEET ALTITUDE WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. THE PILOT ENRICHED THE FUEL MIXTURE, ADJUSTED THROTTLE, AND TURNED ON CARBURETOR HEAT IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE ENGINE BUT HE COULD NOT. DESCENDING TO FIVE HUNDRED FEET HE REALIZED THAT HE WAS NOT HEADING FOR A FIELD BUT A SWAMP TO LAND IN. SHORTLY AFTER TOUCHDOWN IN THE SOFT BOG THE AIRCRAFT ROLLED FORWARD AND SLOWLY INVERTED OVER THE NOSE. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER AND ENGINE COWLING.