Event ERA15LA248

Factual narrative

On June 18, 2015, about 1420 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N6553L, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power on takeoff from Northeast Florida Regional Airport (SGJ), St. Augustine, Florida. The student pilot and flight instructor were not injured. The airplane was privately owned and operated by Florida Aviation Career Training as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The flight instructor stated that she and the student pilot had departed SGJ about 40 minutes earlier and practiced maneuvers in the local practice area before returning to the airport for practice takeoffs and landings. During the fourth takeoff, at an altitude about 200 ft above ground level, the engine experienced a partial loss of power. The flight instructor assumed control of the airplane and initiated a left turn to return to the airport. The airplane touched down in a grassy area perpendicular to taxiway Bravo, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane continued across the taxiway, where it came to rest upright. Photographs provided of the airplane after the accident showed evidence of some fuel spillage on the taxiway; however, the fuel onboard at the time of the accident was not quantified. The airplane was transported to a storage facility, where an engine test run was performed with a replacement carburetor and propeller. There were no anomalies observed during the engine run. The flight instructor reported that she and the student were performing practice takeoffs and landings in the airport traffic pattern. During the fourth takeoff, at an altitude of about 200 ft above ground level, the engine lost partial power. The instructor took control of the airplane and initiated a left turn to return to the airport. The airplane touched down in a grassy area perpendicular to a taxiway, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane continued across the taxiway, where it came to rest upright and sustained substantial damage. Photographs of the airplane after the accident showed evidence of some fuel spillage on the taxiway; however, the fuel on board at the time of the accident was not quantified. There were no anomalies noted during an engine test run with a replacement carburetor and propeller. Thus, the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C