thedrifter
04-25-07, 06:51 AM
Cleanup begins in Blue Angels crash
The Red Cross is providing disaster relief for those affected by the fatal accident
Published Wednesday April 25 2007
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
The mile of guarded perimeter around the Blue Angels crash site was slightly reduced Tuesday when one road block was removed as military officials began to pick up the wreckage, authorities said.
"We made considerable progress today," said William Winn, director of the Beaufort County Emergency Management Department.
He said he hopes another sweep of the crash site for debris today will allow them to shrink the secured area even further, adding he hopes the military investigation progresses enough to have it "back to normal" in a few days.
"We spent all day Monday locating and identifying everything," said Navy Capt. Russ Bartlett, the senior member of the Aircraft Mishap Board investigating Saturday's crash that killed Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis. "We didn't touch anything."
Investigators found the flight data recorder from the F/A-18 Hornet on Monday in a pond in the wooded area near Shanklin and Pine Grove roads, Bartlett said.
"It tells you everything -- the parameters," he said.
Analysis of the recorder can take one to two weeks.
Bartlett said it's still possible for a cause of the accident to be released within the next three weeks and he hopes to have the debris cleared out of the Beaufort area by the end of the week.
"We're finding the things we need," he said.
Utilities were restored to many of the homes affected by the debris field that spans one-quarter mile in length, said Winn.
He said the county's reverse 911
system was used Saturday to call residents to inform them of the crash and warn them not to touch debris, but some of the messages were lost because several phone lines were down.
Five houses, including one that was vacant before the crash, are in need of significant repair, he said.
A claims investigator arrived Tuesday to assess the property damage, Navy officials said.
Eight families are displaced because of the damage or power outages, according to officials at the Palmetto Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Four families -- 13 people -- are staying in hotel rooms provided by the Red Cross, and the other families have found shelter with family and friends, said Richard Czark, disaster services chairman at the Palmetto Chapter. The organization is providing food, clothing and money to the eight families as they wait for building inspectors and, in some cases, major repairs to their homes, he said.
"They were forced from their homes unexpectedly. It's a disaster for them," Czark said.
The Red Cross has provided more than 1,200 meals for the more than 150 military and local emergency personnel on the crash site since Saturday, said Liz Johnson, financial development director for the organization. She said she expects it'll cost about $16,000 to feed them through the end of the investigation, and the organization is asking for donations to help replenish the funds.
Mental health volunteers with the Red Cross also are on the scene to counsel crash witnesses and those whose lives have been affected by the investigation, Czark said.
"They're literally going house to house," he said, adding 17 people received counseling Tuesday. "Early on, they don't really seek counseling, but as the disaster wears on, (interest) has been increasing."
Jeff Cyr, who injured his back, hip and knee Saturday as he dodged flying debris, said he didn't take the Red Cross up on the offer of a hotel room since power was on at his house, but he said Tuesday he's still "pretty emotional."
"I can't stop thinking about it," he said.
Ellie
The Red Cross is providing disaster relief for those affected by the fatal accident
Published Wednesday April 25 2007
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
The mile of guarded perimeter around the Blue Angels crash site was slightly reduced Tuesday when one road block was removed as military officials began to pick up the wreckage, authorities said.
"We made considerable progress today," said William Winn, director of the Beaufort County Emergency Management Department.
He said he hopes another sweep of the crash site for debris today will allow them to shrink the secured area even further, adding he hopes the military investigation progresses enough to have it "back to normal" in a few days.
"We spent all day Monday locating and identifying everything," said Navy Capt. Russ Bartlett, the senior member of the Aircraft Mishap Board investigating Saturday's crash that killed Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis. "We didn't touch anything."
Investigators found the flight data recorder from the F/A-18 Hornet on Monday in a pond in the wooded area near Shanklin and Pine Grove roads, Bartlett said.
"It tells you everything -- the parameters," he said.
Analysis of the recorder can take one to two weeks.
Bartlett said it's still possible for a cause of the accident to be released within the next three weeks and he hopes to have the debris cleared out of the Beaufort area by the end of the week.
"We're finding the things we need," he said.
Utilities were restored to many of the homes affected by the debris field that spans one-quarter mile in length, said Winn.
He said the county's reverse 911
system was used Saturday to call residents to inform them of the crash and warn them not to touch debris, but some of the messages were lost because several phone lines were down.
Five houses, including one that was vacant before the crash, are in need of significant repair, he said.
A claims investigator arrived Tuesday to assess the property damage, Navy officials said.
Eight families are displaced because of the damage or power outages, according to officials at the Palmetto Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Four families -- 13 people -- are staying in hotel rooms provided by the Red Cross, and the other families have found shelter with family and friends, said Richard Czark, disaster services chairman at the Palmetto Chapter. The organization is providing food, clothing and money to the eight families as they wait for building inspectors and, in some cases, major repairs to their homes, he said.
"They were forced from their homes unexpectedly. It's a disaster for them," Czark said.
The Red Cross has provided more than 1,200 meals for the more than 150 military and local emergency personnel on the crash site since Saturday, said Liz Johnson, financial development director for the organization. She said she expects it'll cost about $16,000 to feed them through the end of the investigation, and the organization is asking for donations to help replenish the funds.
Mental health volunteers with the Red Cross also are on the scene to counsel crash witnesses and those whose lives have been affected by the investigation, Czark said.
"They're literally going house to house," he said, adding 17 people received counseling Tuesday. "Early on, they don't really seek counseling, but as the disaster wears on, (interest) has been increasing."
Jeff Cyr, who injured his back, hip and knee Saturday as he dodged flying debris, said he didn't take the Red Cross up on the offer of a hotel room since power was on at his house, but he said Tuesday he's still "pretty emotional."
"I can't stop thinking about it," he said.
Ellie