Cessna 152 N6585L accident near South Hill, Washington

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to ensure that the fuel supply had been completely drained of water, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power during takeoff due to water contamination.

NTSB analysis

The pilot purchased the airplane 8 days before the accident via an online auction. The airplane was parked outside, partially covered, for several years before the purchase. The pilot said that he worked on the airplane to facilitate an engine run, which included draining the fuel from wing fuel tanks and the airframe fuel filter, during which he observed water in the fuel. The pilot continued to sump the fuel tanks and airframe fuel filter until no more water was present and conducted multiple engine runs with no issues noted.

The day of the accident, he decided to relocate the airplane. Following an uneventful engine run-up, as the airplane climbed through about 250 ft above ground level during takeoff, the engine lost partial power. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a nearby parking lot, during which the airplane impacted an unoccupied parked vehicle, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

Postaccident examination revealed that the right-wing fuel tank contained water. The left-wing fuel tank was empty; however, there was evidence of a fuel leak due to impact damage. Examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 cylinder bottom spark plug exhibited foreign object debris within the electrode area. Based on the available information, it is most likely that the pilot failed to completely drain the tanks of water, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power during takeoff.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR21LA015 for the full record.