AAIB investigation to Fournier RF5, G-AZPF
Stalled at a height of 5 to 10 feet while landing, Manchester Barton Aerodrome, 2 October 2016.
Summary:
The pilot had carried out a local area flight and returned to land on grass Runway 26R. The weather was good, with calm wind conditions, CAVOK, an OAT of 16°C, dew point 09°C and QNH 1016 hPa. He had previously flown Cessna aircraft and had experienced difficulty judging the round out in the Fournier. On final approach, which he described as “stable”, he thought he was too high and, at a speed of 60 kt, closed the throttle and fully opened the airbrakes. This corrected his approach path and he commenced the flare in the correct place but too high. As he was maintaining back pressure on the control stick, the airspeed decayed and the aircraft stalled from an estimated height of 5 to 10 feet. The aircraft landed heavily on the grass runway and veered off to the right, suffering damage to its fuselage and wing. The pilot, who was wearing a full harness, was uninjured and exited the aircraft unassisted, as normal.
The pilot considered that, when it was apparent that he had rounded out too high, he should have carried out a go-around.
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