Many never thought 32 days later, Mayfair Mews would look almost normal.
The charred buildings are gone. The melted jet parts have been removed. Only an empty field is left along with the four remaining buildings that made it through the Navy F/A-18D Hornet jet crash back on April 6th.
Tuesday, workers installed new gas and cable lines and utilities are planned to be hooked up in the next 24 hours; This paves the way for residents to finally return to the 37 units not destroyed by the flames and explosions.
Related: Oceana jet crash
"Hotels are great for a weekend, but for a month? We want to go back to our place," said Charles Bisbee, who lived with his wife Cathleen in the Mayfair Mews complex. "They said possibly by this weekend. It's up to the city now and the owners."
Virginia Beach housing inspectors hope to be out on Wednesday to make sure the property is up to standard. Once they remove the condemnation signs, the Navy expects to finally turn over the property to the Mayfair Mews owners by Thursday. That paves the way for those who still have homes to return to.
"The Navy has been good; they have treated us well," said Bisbee.
For those who don't have a home to go back to and lost everything, their feelings toward the Navy are a little different.
"They are portraying to the public that they are taking care of people, and as far as I am concerned, on our part, that's not the case," said Ben Dishner, another Mayfair Mews resident.
He and his wife Robin Twisdale say they haven't heard a peep from Navy officials about any more reimbursement for their belongings destroyed by the jet since the last meeting for residents back on April 19th.
"We were told that since we had renters' insurance, they were limited on funds, so we would not be getting anything until we settle our claim. Who knows how long that's going to take," said Twisdale. "$2,900 dollars. That's all we have received from them--that and an 'I'm sorry.' I'm sorry too, but that's not fixing the issue."
When we asked the Navy about the couple's case, they didn't respond to specific questions, only referring us to NAS Oceana's Facebook page about a post made on April 11th that explains how people file claims with the Navy.
If you have a question about your claim, the Navy says to contact their Tort Claims Unit. That number is (757) 341-4583 or you can email them at tortclaimsunit@navy.mil.
