Engine Failure Turns Puppy Ferrying Flight Into Glider

Updated GPS and a moving map display were a game changer when a Cessna 172N engine lost power.

Kieran Spaulding

Thursday, September 07, 2023 at 12:47 PM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

Roland Vegiard (left) and Kerry Spaulding. [Credit: Maryanne Bell/Bradford County Humane Society]

Key Takeaways:

The author, a pilot, volunteered his Cessna 172N and time for a Pilots 'n Paws mission, transporting dogs from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and returning with nine puppies.
During the return flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden and complete engine failure at 9,500 feet, prompting the pilots to execute emergency procedures and successfully glide to an emergency landing at Virginia Highlands Airport (KVJI).
Local airport staff and Animal Control provided exceptional assistance, caring for the puppies while the pilots arranged ground transportation to complete their charitable mission despite the airborne emergency.

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As a pilot and airplane owner, I try to share my passion for flying by donating my time and airplane—a recently purchased single-engine Cessna 172N—for worthy causes like Pilots ‘n Paws.

Recently, Roland Vegiard and I embarked on a charitable trip in support of Pilots ‘n Paws relocating some sheltered animals for the Bradford County Humane Society from Towanda, Pennsylvania, to Asheville, North Carolina.