CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Pieces of the cargo plane that wrecked last Friday at Yeager Airport will be removed from the hillside Tuesday by helicopter, according to airport officials.
Friday morning’s crash claimed the lives of pilots Johnathan Pablo Alvarado, 47, from Stamford, Texas, and Anh K. Ho, 31, of Cross Lanes.
The Short 330 cargo plane, owned by Air Cargo Carriers, has already been cut into pieces. The helicopter will move those pieces to the Echo Pad at Yeager where trucks with trailers will be loaded. The work will not impact airport operations, officials said Monday.
The wreckage will be transported to facilities owned by AMF Aviation in Springfield, Tenn., where it will be further analyzed by investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Yeager is also planning more permanent repairs to its runway. The company is working with a paving company. A environmental company will remediate the hillside crash site.
West Virginia American Water is also monitoring what, if any, impact the fuel spill from the crash will have on the Elk River. There’s been no contamination detected.
It will take the NTSB about a year to issue its final report, according to investigator-in-charge Bill English.