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C172 pilot and safety pilot reported diverting to a nearby alternate airport when the engine began to backfire.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1364977 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201606 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 270 Flight Crew Type 100 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 24 Flight Crew Total 505 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
I was flying VFR in VMC conditions with a safety pilot in the right seat. I was flying at 3;000ft under an overlying class bravo airspace shelf at 5;000ft. In my mind I had intended to stay at 3;000ft for the relatively short flight but had never verbalized it to the safety pilot. The safety pilot prompted me to start a climb to a higher altitude. I went ahead and initiated the unplanned climb in a now overlying 6;000ft class bravo shelf and started a turn to the south/southwest at the safety pilot's suggestion as well. Shortly thereafter; I identified a lower class bravo shelf of 3;600 ft between us and our direction of flight. I initiated an immediate descent and began a 180 degree turn to remain within the overlying 6;000ft class bravo shelf. As soon as I initiated the descent I heard a very loud bang come from the engine. I had never heard anything like the loud bang before. I identified an uncontrolled airport to the west of my position and what I thought was within potential gliding distance. I stopped my initial turn and continued my descent heading towards the uncontrolled airport. As I descended; the engine made continuous banging noises; but the noises were quieter than the initial loud bang. I was concerned the engine was going to quit functioning and continued my descent to the uncontrolled airport where I made a precautionary landing. The uncontrolled airport was underneath the 3;600ft class bravo shelf. In the future it will be important to assure I discuss plans; routes; altitudes; etc. With the safety pilot before the flight as well as requesting VFR flight following near bravo airspace.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: C172 pilot and safety pilot reported diverting to a nearby alternate airport when the engine began to backfire.
Narrative: I was flying VFR in VMC conditions with a safety pilot in the right seat. I was flying at 3;000ft under an overlying Class Bravo airspace shelf at 5;000ft. In my mind I had intended to stay at 3;000ft for the relatively short flight but had never verbalized it to the safety pilot. The safety pilot prompted me to start a climb to a higher altitude. I went ahead and initiated the unplanned climb in a now overlying 6;000ft Class Bravo shelf and started a turn to the South/Southwest at the safety pilot's suggestion as well. Shortly thereafter; I identified a lower Class Bravo shelf of 3;600 ft between us and our direction of flight. I initiated an immediate descent and began a 180 degree turn to remain within the overlying 6;000ft Class Bravo shelf. As soon as I initiated the descent I heard a very loud bang come from the engine. I had never heard anything like the loud bang before. I identified an uncontrolled airport to the west of my position and what I thought was within potential gliding distance. I stopped my initial turn and continued my descent heading towards the uncontrolled airport. As I descended; the engine made continuous banging noises; but the noises were quieter than the initial loud bang. I was concerned the engine was going to quit functioning and continued my descent to the uncontrolled airport where I made a precautionary landing. The uncontrolled airport was underneath the 3;600ft Class Bravo shelf. In the future it will be important to assure I discuss plans; routes; altitudes; etc. with the safety pilot before the flight as well as requesting VFR flight following near Bravo airspace.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.