N46DK

On Sunday, September 5, 1993, at about 1108 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA46-350P, N46DK, owned, operated, and piloted by Dean Kaman of Bedford, New Hampshire, was destroyed during a landing on runway 10 at the Block Island Airport, Block Island, Rhode Island. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The cross country flight originated from Manchester, New Hampshire, and its final destination was the Block Island Airport. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The pilot reported that on final approach, he maneuvered the airplane making "S" turns to allow proper spacing from the airplane in front of his. The pilot wrote, "On short final I decided to 'go around' because the runway was still not clear. I pushed full throttle and started a (left) turn to the North and raised the nose. Power did not come back so I tried to get back on final and land. I turned back and before I could straighten out on final, the right wing caught the runway."

The pilot stated that after the airplane contacted the runway, the airplane "...skidded to the right..." collapsing the right main gear. The airplane continued across the runway right of the centerline and came to rest in the grass off the runway.

A passenger sitting in the front right seat of the airplane stated that he remembered the pilot putting down the flaps and the landing gear. All of the passengers stated that prior to the landing, they heard the stall warning come on. The passenger seated behind the pilot wrote, "Dean then told us that it was a 'stall/low speed' warning. He then said that we were 10-13 knots above stall since we were at about 80 knots."

The on scene post accident examination of the accident site revealed black rubber deposits which started at the approach end of runway 10, left of the runway centerline, and ended at the airplane's left main gear. The FAA inspector stated there were numerous propeller blade strikes on the runway.

The on scene post accident examination of the airplane revealed that the right wing was broken away from the airplane where the landing gear attaches to the wing. The outer portion of the wing was about 30 feet behind the airplane's final resting place. The fuel line in the right wing was ruptured and a fire damaged the right side of the fuselage and both portions of the right wing. The left wing was buckled. The flaps were fully retracted.