# Incident 20260909011659I: Cessna 172P, Modesto, CA, September 9, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 9, 2026, 18:50 local time
- Place: Modesto, CA
- Airport: Modesto City-County-Harry Sham
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.6258° N, 120.9544° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MODESTO CITY-COUNTY-HARRY SHAM FLD (MOD), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.6258&lon=-120.9544&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1724P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1724P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (registry code 41595, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-320-d2j) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Reported engine: LYCOMING O-320
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 700 total, 650 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260909011659I

## Narrative

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

ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2026, AT APPROXIMATELY 1850 LOCAL TIME, A CESSNA 172P WAS CONDUCTING A PART 91 INTRODUCTORY FLIGHT FROM MODESTO, CALIFORNIA, WITH TWO OCCUPANTS ON BOARD: THE PILOT AND A PROSPECTIVE FLIGHT STUDENT. WHILE EXECUTING A SLOW CRUISE CLIMB FROM 1,000 FEET TO 2,000 FEET OVER THE MODESTO RESERVOIR, THE PILOT OPERATED THE LYCOMING O-320 D2J ENGINE WITH THE CARBURETOR HEAT TURNED OFF TO MAXIMIZE POWER. HIGH AMBIENT HUMIDITY OVER THE RESERVOIR CAUSED RAPID CARBURETOR ICING, RESULTING IN A SUDDEN AND COMPLETE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY APPLIED CARBURETOR HEAT, BUT AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,700 FEET AND DESCENDING, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT TIME FOR THE HEAT TO CLEAR THE ICE AND RESTORE POWER. THE PILOT DECLARED A MAYDAY EMERGENCY, STATING THE AIRCRAFT COULD NOT REACH THE AIRPORT, AND SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMED AN OFF-FIELD EMERGENCY LANDING ON A GRASS FIELD. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SAFELY WITHOUT SUSTAINING DAMAGE, AND NEITHER OCCUPANT SUFFERED INJURIES.

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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