# Incident 20260810011359I: Cessna 172N, Deridder, LA, August 10, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 10, 2026, 13:30 local time
- Place: Deridder, LA
- Airport: Beauregard Regional Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.8317° N, 93.3399° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BEAUREGARD RGNL (DRI), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.8317&lon=-93.3399&mi=10
- Aircraft: N75721, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N75721) (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 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor, private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 540 total, 300 in this make and model, 225 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260810011359I

## Narrative

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

WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM PIC

THIS IS MY ACCOUNT FOR WHAT HAPPENED THE MORNING AUGUST 10, 2026. IT ALL STARTED VERY NORMAL AND ROUTINE. MY STUDENT PREFLIGHTED THE AIRPLANE WHILE I OVERSAW. FUEL WAS GOOD, OIL WAS GOOD, ALL OTHER CHECKS WERE GOOD. I WATCHED HIM TAXI OVER TO RUN UP WHERE RUN UP AND ALL OTHER CHECKLISTS WERE PERFORMED AND ALL CHECKS WERE GOOD. WE THEN DEPARTED RUNWAY 18 AT KDRI FOR A SOUTHEAST DEPARTURE TO AN AREA WITH LIGHT TRAFFIC. I TOLD MY STUDENT TO CLIMB AND MAINTAIN 3000 FEET. HOWEVER IN THE CLIMB AT ABOUT 2500 FEET I HEARD A POPPING SOUND (MY STUDENT DESCRIBES IT AS MORE OF A KNOCKING SOUND), WITH A SUDDEN DRASTIC RPM LOSS. WE BOTH REALIZED RIGHT THEN AND THERE THAT SOMETHING WAS DRASTICALLY WRONG. I TOOK CONTROLS AND QUICKLY RAN THE POWER LOSS CHECKLIST. AFTER MAKING IT THROUGH ALL OF THAT AND SEEING WE WERE AT 1600 RPM AT FULL THROTTLE AND 7.5 NM AWAY FROM KDRI, WE COULDN’T HOLD ALTITUDE AND EITHER WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO LIMP TO THE RUNWAY OR IT WOULD’VE BEEN VERY TIGHT. EITHER WAY THERE WAS A MASSIVE BEAUTIFUL FLAT FIELD RIGHT BELOW US AND I MADE THE QUICK DECISION IT WOULD GIVE US OUR BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL. WHILE HOLDING VG, I CONTACTED GUARD ON 121.5 AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. I CIRCLED THE PERIMETER OF THE FIELD COUNTER CLOCKWISE WHILE MY STUDENT AND I SCANNED THE AREA FOR OBSTACLES, FENCES, ETC. WHEN WE GOT LOW ENOUGH I THEN MADE A LEFT TURN ONTO THE FIELD WHILE TRYING TO KEEP MY NOSE UP. WE THEN TOUCHED DOWN AND CAME TO A FULL STOP VERY FAST. LUCKILY NEITHER OF US WERE HURT NOR SEEMED THE AIRPLANE. THAT IS MY ACCOUNT OF THE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ INCIDENT ON AUGUST 10, 2026.

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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