I was thinking the exact same thing regarding the crane removing wreckage. Obviously there's a few reasons that they might lift it up, one would be to ensure there is no persons / bodies underneath I'd presume. Another less likely would be that they already have a good idea of the cause and are now trying to piece together the chain that led to the outcome...who knows, but it does seem odd....
Is there any reports on whether the Pilots survived, as it seems that the majority of the damage is to the rear, so I presume the few survivors are towards the front of the plane.
Here's one for the experts....Where do the avionics for the control systems run on an MD-82? I was just wondering if an explosive engine failiure could have resulted in control surfaces being severed, much like the United Flight some years back......
I don't know much, and won't pretend I do. Just thinking aloud and waiting to hear what the experts around here think..