By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge of the downed Cessna from Chehalis says they likely will have to use a helicopter to remove the wreckage from the mountains but he still doesn’t know when that will be.
It normally would take place within a few days to a week, but snowy conditions and safety concerns have put retrieval attempts on hold, according to Wayne Pollack, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB’s Western Pacific Region.
“In this case, as soon as the weather is good enough,” Pollack said yesterday afternoon. “That may be tomorrow, it may be next week.”
Pollack spoke from Los Angeles yesterday. He’s in charge of coordinating the recovery of the plane from Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute that crashed Monday morning northeast of Morton.
Chehalis pilot Ken Sabin, technician Rod Rinta and ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Shenk were onboard the Cessna 340A traveling to Lewiston, Idaho when Sabin reported one engine was down and then radio contact was lost.
Pollack said the NTSB will oversee a contractor which will remove the wreckage to a facility, and there it will be partially reconstructed and scrutinized. The NTSB will conduct a structural, engine and systems examination, Pollack said.
When complete, they will issue a finding of the facts, conditions and circumstances of the accident.
The aircraft was found Tuesday at an elevation of about 3,500 feet in a rugged, wooded area some nine miles northeast of Morton. Approximately a foot of snow was covering it then.
It’s a foot hike in from forest roads on property owned by West Fork Timber. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has described the plane as spread over some 75 to 100 yards.
Pollack said when they are able to get in, they must account for the nose, tail, wings, engines and cockpit.
He said he’s waiting for word from the Lewis County Coroner’s Office that the bodies are removed.
“They’re going to go in first and report back,” he said. “We may have a small (contingent) go with them.”
Morton’s elevation is approximately 900 feet. The National Weather Service forecast for Morton includes various chances of rain or showers through Tuesday and lows in the mid-40s with highs in the mid 50s.
The forecast for the west slopes of the central Cascade Mountains shows snow levels dropping to 4,000 feet on Sunday and headed back up to 9000 to 10,000 feet early next week.
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CORRECTION: This news story was modified at 11 p.m. Friday Oct. 29, 2010 as it initially erroneously attributed the overseeing of a contractor to remove the wreckage, the conducting of an examination and determining the cause of the crash to the wrong agency.
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Read previous news story on the plane crash here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter