NTSB ATL86LA017 — 1985-11-03 · MONCKS CORNER, South Carolina, United States

Current FAA registration · N73171

Make / Model: CESSNA 172M
Year of manufacture: 1976 · 9 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19760528
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A9D229

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N73171 Cessna 172 M None

Factual narrative

THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE ACFT ENGINE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER WHILE BEING VECTORED FOR THE INITIAL ILS APPROACH TO CHARLESTON, SC (CHS). ATTEMPTS BY THE PLT TO REGAIN PWR FAILED AND A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN A SWAMPY FIELD A FEW MILES NORTH OF CHS. THE ACFT NOSED OVER INVERTED AS IT CAME TO A STOP AND REMAINED THAT WAY UNTIL IT WAS REMOVED FROM THE SITE 3 DAYS LATER. EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED ABOUT 6 TO 8 OUNCES OF FUEL IN THE FUEL SYSTEM AND NO CONTAMINATION WAS DETECTED. A TOTAL OF 4 GALLONS OF FUEL WAS THEN ADDED TO THE TWO WING TANKS. THE ENGINE WAS READILY STARTED, USING THE ACFT BATTERY, AND IT RAN SMOOTHLY AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF ROUGHNESS. THE ENGINE WAS RUN TO FULL POWER AND NO DEFECTS WERE NOTED. FOLLOWING SHUTDOWN, AN EXAMINATION OF THE FUEL SYSTEM REVEALED NO LEAKS. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE ACFT WAS TOPPED OFF PRIOR TO DEPARTURE AND SHOULD HAVE HAD 5 HRS OF FUEL. THE PILOT REPORTED THE TOTAL ENGINE RUNNING TIME AT 4 HRS 40 MINUTES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_ATL86LA017.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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