A cargo plane that crashed Friday at Yeager Airport could be removed as early as Monday, according to a press release from the airport.
As soon as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board finish examining the crash site, a wooded area on a slope near the airport, a recovery company will remove the plane.
The plane will be cut into pieces, with each section lifted out of the site by helicopter or crane. Remnants of the plane will be loaded onto flatbed tractor trailers, then removed from the airport.
A wing that was already removed from the crash site is currently in a hangar at the airport.
Yeager Airport spokesman Mike Plante said the NTSB is checking every detail of the plane to determine a cause of the crash, from looking at where switches were set to where the pilots were sitting during the crash. It uses various methods, including sending a drone to capture footage of the crash scene.
The NTSB is also investigating other factors, including how long the two crew members who were killed in the crash were on board the plane.
Plante said the removal process will not affect airport operations.
The plane was owned and operated by Milwaukee-based Air Cargo Carriers, a contractor for UPS. After the NTSB's investigation is complete the plane's remnants will be released to Air Cargo Carriers' insurance company.
The airport was closed for 30 hours following the crash. According to airport officials, about 1,136 outbound passengers and 1,200 inbound passengers were affected by the airport's closure.
After the airplane is removed, Clean Harbor, the airport's environmental contractor, will clean the site to clear any leftover fuel or hydraulic fluid.
West Virginia American Water said water sampled from a creek near the crash site was not contaminated. The creek flows into the Elk River.
The NTSB will continue to investigate the cause of the crash.
Plante said a preliminary report of the crash should be released in about a month.
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