N620WG

On August 3, 2022, about 0830 mountain daylight time, a Socata TBM-700 airplane, N620WG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight.

The pilot stated he followed another airplane into the traffic pattern and maintained separation visually as the other airplane landed in front of him. When the airplane reached short final, the pilot heard a low tone he was unfamiliar with. He chose to ignore the tone and concentrate on landing the airplane. As the airplane touched down, the propeller impacted the runway and the airplane settled to the runway on its belly and came to a stop near centerline. The landing gear switch was found in the down position, the main landing gear were found in a partially extended position, and the nose gear and landing gear doors were in a retracted position. The pilot did not recall when he put the landing gear switch down and he did not recall looking at the landing gear indicator lights on the approach. He further stated that he “failed to confirm 3 green,” and he let himself become distracted by the traffic in the pattern.

The main landing gear doors had damage to their faces on the lower 1/3 of each of the doors. The nose gear doors had damage to the face of both doors. There was substantial damage to the stringers and frames on the underside of the airplane.

The airplane was placed on jack stands and the landing gear was cycled up and down. It was noted that during extension the nose gear doors opened at the same time the main landing gear began to extend. No anomalies were noted with the landing gear system.