Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 98.6; Flight Crew Total 479.8; Flight Crew Type 61.9
Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Ground Excursion Runway
Aircraft Equipment Problem Dissipated; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Aircraft; Human Factors
Departed in a C172 with the intent of completing practice landings at a towered airport at night. Airplane was full of fuel before departing and I added 1 QT of oil; to make the oil level just over 7 QTS total. No noticeable issues on pre-flight and no significant weather. The airplane did not have any noticeable engine issues on the 68 NM trip and seemed to be operating fine. I contacted Tower roughly 7 miles to the south of the airport at 3;500 MSL; for landing. Tower turned on the runway lights and said; 'Report 2 mile final for RWY XX.' I turned on the carburetor heat; reduced the throttle to roughly 1500 RPM; and added 20 degrees of flaps to begin descent for a straight in approach for RWY XX. Still no noticeable issues on descent. I reported a 2 mile final for RWY XX; and was given clearance to land on RWY XX. To adjust my approach angle; I then added 10 degrees more flaps for a total of 30 degrees of flaps as it appeared I was going in to high. I continued to descend for the runway and at roughly 200 feet AGL; 70 KIAS; and 0.5 miles from the end of the runway; I slightly reduced the throttle to roughly 1300 RPM to further reduce the approach angle. At this point; the engine stuttered 1-2 times and then completely stopped. My immediate reaction as the engine stuttered was to push the throttle all the way in to 100% power; but this did not help. With the engine out; the propeller continued to spin; thus indicating a possible starvation condition. Without engine power; I immediately noticed that I was going to land short of the runway. I quickly removed all flaps and pushed the noise of the aircraft down to increase my airspeed in an attempt to make the runway. I notified Tower that I had an engine out and was going to attempt to make the runway. I noticed that I was still going to land short of the runway and was about to hit the MALSR lighting; so I maneuvered the aircraft slightly to the left to avoid impact. I touched down roughly 20 feet from the runway threshold; slightly left of the center line to avoid impact with the approach lighting. There was no propeller strike and the aircraft rolled up onto RWY XX; where it eventually came to a stop. Tower asked if I needed to declare an emergency and if I was in need of crash assistance. I reported back saying that I was down and safe and did not require assistance. I informed the tower that I would attempt to restart the engine and taxi off of the runway. The engine restarted on the second try; and I taxied off of RWY XX for parking. On post flight; the aircraft still appeared to be in normal condition with roughly 3/4 of a tank of fuel in each wing. No one was injured and the airplane did not appear to be damaged.
C172 pilot experiences engine failure on short final after a low power descent from 3;500 feet. The aircraft lands short but rolls onto the runway without hitting any obstacles. The engine restarts on the second try and the aircraft is taxied clear of the runway.