C172 pilot reported an near midair collision in the vicinity of igx airport.

Attributes
ACN	1409509
Time
Date	201612
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	IGX.Airport
State Reference	NC
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Direct Visual Approach
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Flight Phase	Cruise
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Events
Anomaly	Conflict NMAC Deviation - Altitude Undershoot Deviation - Procedural Clearance
Miss Distance	Horizontal 400 Vertical 200

Narrative:

VFR flight utilizing flight following. ATC called out climb to 4500 for traffic at my 11:00; I was at 4200 and had been in a descent and set my autopilot to climb back to 4500; I failed to set the ascent rate so my auto pilot just held my 4200 foot altitude rather than climbing as I expected. I observed the other aircraft heading towards me at my 11:00 and it appeared above me. I decided the safest course at that time was to descend further below the other aircraft and make a left turn to try to keep as much separation as possible. ATC called out that they were at my same altitude but they were higher than me. I had another pilot with me and he agreed this was the best course of action once realizing we had not climbed to the requested 4500.ATC advised me to call for a possible pilot deviation and I provided the information above.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 pilot reported an NMAC in the vicinity of IGX airport.

Narrative: VFR flight utilizing flight following. ATC called out climb to 4500 for traffic at my 11:00; I was at 4200 and had been in a descent and set my autopilot to climb back to 4500; I failed to set the ascent rate so my auto pilot just held my 4200 foot altitude rather than climbing as I expected. I observed the other aircraft heading towards me at my 11:00 and it appeared above me. I decided the safest course at that time was to descend further below the other aircraft and make a left turn to try to keep as much separation as possible. ATC called out that they were at my same altitude but they were higher than me. I had another pilot with me and he agreed this was the best course of action once realizing we had not climbed to the requested 4500.ATC advised me to call for a possible pilot deviation and I provided the information above.

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.