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| Date: | Saturday 8 November 2025 |
| Time: | c. 14:09 LT |
| Type: |  Cessna 177B Cardinal |
| Owner/operator: | Douglas Gedney 425-600-8426 |
| Registration: | N22177 |
| MSN: | 17702323 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | W. Bank Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant Reservoir 5 NM SW of KLDM -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Fremont Municipal Airport, MI (KFFX) |
| Ludington-Mason County Airport, MI (LDM/KLDM) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A Cessna 177B Cardinal, N22177, sustained minor damage after the pilot executed a forced landing due to the complete loss of power after the engine unexpectedly experienced catastrophic failure and seized up around 1,600' AGL while maneuvering for entry into TPA on approach to KLDM.
Due to the abundance of significant obstructions in the immediate area (high voltage power lines, wind turbines, radio towers) and a lack of suitable landing options (tree orchards, residential neighborhoods and roads with vehicles and obstructed with a high density of criss-crossing power/comm lines), the pilot chose to execute a forced landing on the what appeared to be the only option available to stay away from people, buildings and roads.
The pilot maneuvered to the north into the wind and positioned for final approach on the west slope of a nearby stored energy power plant reservoir after clearing the E-W high tension lines then forward slipping to land between the top of the reservoir road (could not land on the narrow service road on top since the 38’ wing span would not have cleared the power transformer buildings, security fences or light poles on top of the reservoir or on the lower service road, so the only option was to put down in parallel with the top of reservoir between the N-S high tension lines and the service road at the top of the reservoir.
Both fuel tanks were full (less .5 hour), making it critical that the aircraft remained upright and not cartwheel or flip, so after touching down on the sloped bank at a higher than normal landing speed and using forward momentum to keep the aircraft on its wheels to prevent tipping over, pilot then used remaining airflow past the vertical stabilizer rudder in conjunction with the nose gear to turn the aircraft west and "drove" down the bank straight ahead while applying heavy braking to dissipate energy, coming to rest on the flatter area at bottom in an upright position, narrowly avoiding several buck deer that dashed out in front of the aircraft (the reservoir fields ar home to 300+ protected deer).
Pilot reported that the engine monitor and factory gauges showed all systems in the green up until 30 seconds before complete engine failure. Pilot stated that he first recognized engine failure was imminent during his instrument scan when he saw temperatures shoot up into the red, and as he lowered the nose and opened cowl flaps in an attempt to cool the engine, he heard the unmistakable sound of a mechanical failure inside the engine (rumbling, clanking), immediately after which the prop completely locked up. This caused drag which adversely impacted glide distance, further complicating the situation by removing any other landing options, forcing him to put down on the 45 degree sloped embankment of the stored energy reservoir.
Pilot further stated that out of habit, he had taken time-stamped/geo-tagged pictures of his preflight procedures, one of which which clearly shows that the engine oil level was at 7.5 quarts prior to departure and another picture taken after the forced landing which showed that the engine had lost no oil - therefore the initial analysis is that the immediate engine stoppage was attributed to catastrophic mechanical failure within the engine, leaving less than a minute to determine an area in which to land the aircraft without harming anyone on the ground or damaging property.
Neither the pilot or his 83 year old passenger were injured and there was no harm to persons or any damage to anything on the ground.
The pilot then contacted local law enforcement and the Coast Guard to cancel the Mayday call and ELT signal he had initiated on his way down, making sure they understood there were no injuries crew or passenger injuries, no fuel spillage and no harm to any persons or damage to property on the ground. The FAA and NTSB were also notified of the incident.
UPDATE: Post incident investigation determined that based on the 3’ x 6” hole that was blown our on top of the engine casing from within, it appears that the connecting rod in cylinder #2 failed in-flight, causing the connecting rod to come loose, resulting in immediate engine seizure. This is consistent with the initial pilot report regarding the sequence of events. One probable cause being considered is improper torquing of components during engine overhaul.
This preliminary technical analysis is considered to be speculative in nature, as the engine has not yet been opened for internal examination, so specifics have not yet been determined.
The Lycoming 0-360-A1F6 engine S/N 15414-36A had 43 hours on the engine since major overhaul. Pilot stated that the engine had been carefully broken in, following all factory guidelines. This has been confirmed through logbook examination.
Additional information will be provided following completion of internal examination.
Sources:
https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/ludington-plane-crash-21150054.php
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=N22177
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N22177/history/20251108/1843Z/KFFX/L%2043.86397%20-86.42951
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a1e825&lat=43.868&lon=-86.431&zoom=15.6&showTrace=2025-11-08&trackLabels
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Nov-2025 19:23 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 17-Nov-2025 07:22 | SnoopDoug | Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 17-Nov-2025 16:03 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 21-Nov-2025 07:13 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 21-Nov-2025 13:32 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 02-Dec-2025 19:37 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 03-Dec-2025 10:11 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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