Photo by Dan Kohler Salvage crews on Wednesday removed portions of the plane that crashed Sunday evening near the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport.

The wreckage from a twin-engine aircraft has been collected near the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport as part of a now-ongoing investigation following a crash this week that killed three people.

The debris is on its way to Tennessee where it will be examined by the National Transportation Safety Board, Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone confirmed. Sections of the Grumman American GA-7 were secured Wednesday in a heavily wooded area between Route 380 and Route 60, about a mile from the airport in the town of Ellicott.

The plane crashed Sunday evening after it lost contact with air traffic control in Buffalo and amid inclement weather. The aircraft was located Monday morning during a large-scale search involving a dozen volunteer fire departments and multiple police agencies.

The pilot, Alan Fuller, and two passengers, Valerie Holmes and Linda Edwards, were returning to the local airport from North Carolina.

All three were residents of Warren County in Pennsylvania.

Quattrone has stated that weather may have played a role in the crash.

Salvage crews from AMF Aviation LLC of Clarksville, Tenn., could be seen carefully handling the wreckage, using a trailer to move the pieces. The entire recovery effort took place Wednesday, the sheriff said.

Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office also were on scene, and assisted with traffic control in the area around the crash site.