What happened
The flight departed from the runway 07. During the initial climb, the pilot initiated a right climbing turn when the Cessna 172 experienced a loss of engine power. In an attempt to restore power, the pilot applied carburetor heat and verified the position of the fuel tank selector; however, the engine failed to restart. At approximately 200 feet above ground level, the pilot turned the aircraft back toward the runway. The aircraft performed a hard landing on the runway, resulting in the collapse of the left main landing gear and the left wing striking the runway surface. There were no injuries reported.
The investigation
Mechanical examination revealed that during the recovery of the aircraft, a mechanic removed more than a pint of water from the right wing fuel sump. Prior to the flight, the pilot had fueled the aircraft using 87-octane automotive gasoline from 5-gallon cans. The pilot noted that the fuel should have been passed through a water trap filter during the refueling process.