History of the Flight
At 0512 UTC on 4 April 2019, a Lahore Flying Club Cessna-172, registration AP-BIX, departed Walton Airport, Lahore, on a training flight to Multan International Airport (MIAP). At 0646 UTC, the pilot reported engine vibrations and decided to return. At 0650 UTC, approximately 14 nautical miles (NM) short of the waypoint MOLTA and about 75 NM from Multan, the pilot requested to proceed directly to Multan. At 0710 UTC, when the aircraft was 38 NM from Multan, the pilot reported a loss of altitude and decided to divert to the military airfield at Vehari (OPVH). At 0714 UTC, the pilot executed a forced landing due to engine vibrations. After landing, the engine flamed out.
Injuries and Damage
There were two crew members (a pilot and a student pilot) and one passenger on board. All three occupants were uninjured. The aircraft sustained no damage.
Personnel Information
The pilot in command held a valid commercial pilot license (CPL No. 3231). The student pilot held a private pilot license (PPL No. 3541). Both crew members had valid medical fitness for the flight.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Cessna 172N Skyhawk, serial number 17269645, with a total time of 6,310 hours since new. It was powered by a Lycoming O-320-H2AD engine (serial RL-4418-76T) installed on 24 October 2013. The propeller was a McCauley fixed-pitch model (1C160DTM-7557) installed on 17 August 2015, with 1,330 hours since new.
Meteorological and Other Information
No significant weather was reported at the time of the serious incident. The aircraft was not equipped with flight recorders. No fire occurred, and there was no wreckage to examine. The investigation included reference to the Cessna 172N manual, which outlines possible causes of rough engine operation such as carburetor icing, spark plug fouling, magneto malfunction, or low oil pressure.