The pilot has stated that he forgot to put the gear down prior to landing. As soon as the prop struck the runway, then he put the gear down - with the gear in-transit, it really screwed things up, as it caused the aircraft to veer off the runway, causing even more damage. Next week the aircraft will be disassembled and trucked up to Aircorps Aviation in Bemidji, MN where it will be rebuilt (likely in rapid time), with the wings being handled by Odegaard in Fargo, ND (this will be the third time they have rebuilt the wings for that aircraft). Aircorps already has another P-51C they are currently restoring (all to original factory spec), and they have performed all of the annuals and maintenance on the Redtail C-model for a couple of years now, including an engine change. (For those concerned about damage to a "historic aircraft", the vast majority of the aircraft is not original anymore anyway, following the previous two rebuilds/restorations.)
