C120 pilot reported engine failure in initial climb resulting in an off runway landing.

Attributes
ACN	1106329
Time
Date	201308
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 120
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Climb
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40 Flight Crew Total 125 Flight Crew Type 120
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

Pilot executed a normal takeoff. During the initial climb; pilot suffers a sudden loss of power. Pilot followed emergency restart procedure - engine failed to restart. Pilot attempted to return to [departure airport] to land; but landed short of the runway on airport property. The aircraft suffered minimal damage to the prop and right wing tip and was towed back to a hangar. Incident was reported to local law enforcement - they did not require pilot to fill out a written report of the incident.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C120 pilot reported engine failure in initial climb resulting in an off runway landing.

Narrative: Pilot executed a normal takeoff. During the initial climb; pilot suffers a sudden loss of power. Pilot followed emergency restart procedure - engine failed to restart. Pilot attempted to return to [departure airport] to land; but landed short of the runway on airport property. The aircraft suffered minimal damage to the prop and right wing tip and was towed back to a hangar. Incident was reported to local law enforcement - they did not require pilot to fill out a written report of the incident.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.