AviationDB is not known as a reliable source, as the above example illustrates.
Firstly, N52178 is a manufacturer's test registration, worn by dozens of Cessnas over the years.
The Cessna 172P whose details are quoted was cancelled from the US register in 1991, then spent 25 years in Ireland (not the UK), and is currently registered in Germany. It's normally based at Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and sports a rather attractive white/yellow/blue scheme (with matching floats).
Whatever you saw on your screen in and around Afghanistan, it certainly wasn't that C172.