Gainesville Towing & Recovery disconnects the remaining wing on the plane that crashed in the woods near homes in a Bristow neighborhood. Photo Courtesy Gainesville Towing and Recovery[/caption] Following the rescue of Karyta Barnes of Alexandria from her plane that went down Sunday in the Saybrooke community, there was still work to do: the removal of the wreckage from the Bristow neighborhood.
T.J. Overhulser, driver for Gainesville Towing & Recovery, was at the crash site Sunday with his five-man crew to safely remove the remains of the plane from the wooded area just behind several homes.
His company was subcontracted by the Virginia State Police.
According to Overhulser, most of the plane was intact after the crash, but one wing was lodged up a tree.
Design Scapes of Manassas, removed the wing from the tree, while Overhulser's crew worked to detach the other wing from the plane, so it could be transported out of the woods.
Design Scapes of Manassas carefully removed the plane's wing that was caught in the tree.Upon, seeing the wreckage up close, Overhulser was not too surprised that the pilot survived the crash, since most of the plane appeared to be in one piece, though severely damaged.
However, it was fortunate that the plane landed where it did, since he estimated it was just 50 feet from the nearest home on Upper Mill Loop.
“It looked like the wing got caught. It hit the first tree and the rest of the plane came down,” Overhulser said.
It took Overhulser’s crew hours to detach the plane's wing and remove it from the woods, he said.
After he and his crew removed the plane, they transported it back to Manassas Airport. He is not certain where the plane will go from there.
The wreckage of the plane was transported to the Manassas Airport.Overhulser said he’s never transported a crashed plane before and it was one of the most bizarre jobs that he’s ever undertaken.
“It’s up there. We’ve done some pretty weird things: cars that have caught on fire, have been stolen, found couple of miles into the woods, or completely burnt,” he said.
They have also towed tractor trailers in varying conditions. However, this will be one experience that he will not likely forget anytime soon.
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