Narrative:

While making an initial climb out and passing through 1;500 AGL; the aircraft suffered a 1;000 RPM loss of engine power. The loss could not be corrected so I turned the back toward the departure airfield. I declared an emergency due to the increased instability in performance and the high amount of traffic in the vicinity. I was able to perform a safe landing on the runway and safely taxi back to the mechanic's hangar that I was picking the plane up from. The plane had been placed in the repair shop after I noticed an oil leak. Prior to departure; the fuel lines and tank were sumped for water and no water was observed. The craft had 2 hours of fuel on board for the 30 minute flight. Winds were light and variable; sky was clear and visibility was greater than 10 miles.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 pilot experiences a large power loss at 1;500 FT during climb out and successfully returns to departure airport.

Narrative: While making an initial climb out and passing through 1;500 AGL; the aircraft suffered a 1;000 RPM loss of engine power. The loss could not be corrected so I turned the back toward the departure airfield. I declared an emergency due to the increased instability in performance and the high amount of traffic in the vicinity. I was able to perform a safe landing on the runway and safely taxi back to the mechanic's hangar that I was picking the plane up from. The plane had been placed in the repair shop after I noticed an oil leak. Prior to departure; the fuel lines and tank were sumped for water and no water was observed. The craft had 2 hours of fuel on board for the 30 minute flight. Winds were light and variable; sky was clear and visibility was greater than 10 miles.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.