What happened
On 24 August 2003, a Fournier RF4D, registration G-AVWY, was performing a private flight at Halesland Airfield in Somerset. Following a standard takeoff, the pilot accelerated the aircraft to 50 knots while maintaining an altitude of approximately five feet. During the process of retracting the landing gear, the pilot became distracted by a map interfering with the gear control lever. This distraction caused the aircraft to descend, resulting in the propeller striking the ground and sustaining damage to the tips.
In an attempt to recover, the pilot climbed to an altitude of roughly 10 feet. However, significant engine vibrations prompted the pilot to reduce the throttle. Finding insufficient runway to perform a straight-ahead landing, the pilot increased power to a level that mitigated vibration enough to clear a stone wall, intending to land in an overshoot field. While attempting to clear a fence within that field, the aircraft entered a stall and struck both the fence and the ground. The impact with a fence post caused damage to the right-hand wing root, and the aircraft eventually came to rest on its right side.
The investigation
The investigation examined the sequence of events following the initial propeller strike and the pilot's subsequent maneuvers. The inquiry established that the pilot had retracted the landing gear prematurely. Furthermore, the investigation looked into the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft during the final approach to the field, noting that the aircraft was operating at a higher all-up weight than usual, which influenced the stall characteristics during the maneuver.