N923EP

On March 1, 2025, about 1138 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172S, N923EP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14?Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.

The flight instructor stated that the accident flight was the student’s first flight in an airplane. Prior to departure from New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport (EVB), New Smyrna Beach, Florida, the left fuel tank was fueled, bringing the total fuel onboard to 51.6 gallons. No discrepancies were noted during the preflight inspection or engine run-up prior to departure. The flight instructor performed a departure briefing, and after holding short of the runway briefly, was cleared for takeoff.

During the takeoff roll with the mixture control full rich and full throttle applied, the engine rpm was more than 2,300, which increased to 2,400 rpm after getting airborne. When the airplane was about 180 ft above the runway the engine rpm dropped and the engine lost power completely. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and executed an emergency landing, turning “everything fuel related off.” He pitched down to maintain airspeed, declared a mayday with the air traffic control tower and touched down on the beginning of the threshold for runway 2, then rolled onto grass. To avoid nosing over the flight instructor tried not to brake excessively and maneuvered the airplane toward a fence to avoid vehicles on a road that was off-airport. The airplane collided with the fence and nosed over.

A review of the operator-provided download of on-board avionics revealed that takeoff power was applied at 1137:41, and the rpm remained above 2,400 until 1138:04, when the rpm and fuel flow began to decrease. The engine rpm continued to decrease to 0.

The airplane was recovered and retained for further examination.