“It hasn’t affected us much other than the increase in security,” said Lee Hite, president of The Hite Co., Altoona, Pa., which has a branch eight miles from the crash site in Somerset, Pa. “It’s an FAA situation. They’re not letting anyone in. It’s very guarded.”
Hite said security at the Johnstown and Altoona, Pa., airports had increased, and that the FAA brought most of its own supplies into the area for the investigation.
Bob Vanyo, president of Utiliserve, Somerset, Pa., said his company also has not been directly involved with the recovery efforts and that several of Utiliserve’s warehouse people live near the crash site, and one worker had to evacuate his home because debris landed in his backyard.
Roy Haley, president of WESCO Distribution Inc., Pittsburgh, also said the company’s Johnstown branch did not see any significant increase in business, but he speculated that the crash site may have required some limited special-purpose materials.