Cessna 152 N53393 accident near Winder, Georgia

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which resulted in undetected water in the fuel system and a total loss of engine power during the initial climb.

NTSB analysis

According to the private pilot, who was the owner of the airplane, the airplane had been parked for an extended period, and he was preparing it for an annual inspection which was nearly 4 years overdue. On the day before the accident flight, he charged the airplane's battery and ran the engine for about 30 minutes. Before departing on the accident flight, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane, measured the level of fuel in each tank, sampled the fuel tanks and fuel strainer for contaminants, and ran the engine for about 5 to 7 minutes with no anomalies noted.

The pilot taxied the airplane for takeoff, performed the before-takeoff checks, and departed. When the airplane reached about 200 ft above ground level, the engine "sputtered" and then stopped producing power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a field beyond the departure end of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

The left-wing fuel tank was breached by impact and contained no fuel. The right tank was intact and contained about 8 gallons of fuel. The gascolator was drained, and the first 4 ounces drained were clear water; the remaining 4 ounces were a mixture of water and fuel.

The carburetor was separated from the engine at impact and was reattached with an adhesive to facilitate an engine operational check. An external fuel tank was then plumbed to the carburetor, and the engine was started on the airframe utilizing the airplane's own battery. The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption. Had the pilot conducted an adequate preflight inspection, he would have likely detected the water contamination in the fuel system.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA17LA336 for the full record.