Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 1, 1993 TAG: 9308010114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PAINT BANK LENGTH: Medium
But the cause of the crash near the top of Middle Mountain has not yet been determined.
Because the crash site is in a national wilderness area and is so remote, the Navy used a helicopter to remove the pieces of the aircraft, which were scattered over a wide area.
For the past week, about 60 Navy personnel have been busy putting pieces of the wreckage into rubber nets to be lifted to the top of nearby Potts Mountain.
The Navy finished the recovery operation Saturday.
The location of all recovered parts has been marked and recorded to help investigators determine the cause of the crash.
The wreckage was put into cardboard boxes and loaded onto two tractor-trailers to be taken to Norfolk. There, investigators will spread out the parts in a hangar as they were found and try to determine what caused the crash.
Knowing how the wreckage is spread out after a crash can help investigators determine what happened, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike Buran.
The largest piece of wreckage recovered was the plane's tail wing, about two feet square. Pieces of the side wings and the landing gear also were found.
Cmdr. Marty Bricker said most of the wreckage has been recovered, although it was strewn over hundreds of feet on the mountainside. He estimated that wreckage comprising 75 percent of the jet's weight was recovered.
The jet did not have a black box like those found on some civilian aircraft that record the pilot's comments in the final moments before a crash, said Bricker, a senior member of the board investigating the crash.
The site is in the Shawvers Run Wilderness Area in the Jefferson National Forest. Federal law prohibits the use of mechanized vehicles in wilderness areas.
William Sweet, a national forest emergency officer, said no trucks or tractors - not even bicycles - are permitted in wilderness areas.
The workers had to hike two miles through a thickly wooded area over rough terrain from the base station to the crash site. The trip took about 45 minutes, Bricker said.
The crews worked under rigorous conditions, with temperatures in the 90s, Bricker said. The crews reached the base station by traveling about six miles over a gravel road along the mountaintop.
by CNB