Wellstone crash site being combed

Saturday, 10/26/02

A team of investigators from the NTSB is expected to remain at the site where Senator Paul Wellstone's plane crashed yesterday. It could take months before they have answers to questions about why the chartered twin-engine plane went down.

Investigators continued to comb through the wreckage at the crash site, removing the bodies of Senator Wellstone and the seven other people who were on board the plane.

The grim tasks are made more difficult by the marshy, wet terrain. The NTSB reports the wreckage is spread over an area about 190 by 300 feet, and that the damage to the plane was extensive.

The NTSB's acting chairwoman also said the plane was not properly aligned with the runway of the airport it was approaching, and that it appeared to have been coming in at a steeper angle than normal. But she cautioned that some questions might not be answered since the twin-engine Beech had neither a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder.

Meanwhile, the makeshift memorial outside Senator Wellstone's campaign headquarters continues to grow, as Minnesotans continue to mourn the man who fought so hard for all of them.