UPDATE: Thursday, April 8 @ noon
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A voice recorder transcript shows the pilots of a regional airliner that ran off a runway in January were musing about sports cars moments before the aborted takeoff.

The transcript was released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board. It shows the pilots of US Airways Express Flight 2495 engaged in an extended conversation about their dream sports cars while preparing for take off at an airport in Charleston, West Virginia.

Federal Aviation Administration rules prohibit any cockpit conversation during takeoffs and landings that's not directly related to flying the aircraft.

The plane was building up speed when a warning sounded that the flaps were in the wrong position. It stopped a short distance from a cliff.

34 people on the US Airways flight bound for Charlotte, N.C., were jolted when the jet hit the EMAS area of Yeager Airport's runway. No one was hurt.

Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson tells WSAZ.com the report is only initial findings, not a cause.

A final report will be released at a later date. Check the related links section at the bottom of this page for a transcript from the cockpit voice recorder.

According to the article, the two pilots have been placed on administrative leave and taken off flying duties. This is normal after something like this happens during flight.

34 people on the US Airways flight bound for Charlotte, N.C., were jolted when the jet hit the EM AS area of Yeager Airport's runway. No one was hurt.

A source quoted in The Wall Street Journal claims, "preliminary data collected from the cockpit voice recorder indicates that prior to the botched takeoff, the two pilots of US Airways Express Flight 2495 engaged in stretches of non-pertinent chatter that didn't deal with flight preparations, checklists or pilot tasks."

The article attributes the information to "industry officials familiar with the details."

Airport Director Rick Atkinson tells WSAZ.com the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still investigating the incident and this information has not been released to the airport.

Atkinson also says he was a little concerned the name of the source was not released in the article.

If you would like to read the article in The Wall Street Journal, click on the link below.

Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the very latest information.

The county released the report during the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority meeting Wednesday at Yeager Airport in Charleston.

According to the report, emergency responders, county leaders and airport officials have learned ways they could improve their response to future incidents.

Nine items were listed as lessons learned in the report.

According to the report, the Mobile Command was never sent to the airport. Since the initial reports were of an aircraft stuck in the mud the operators did not see a need for it, especially after the downgrade to Alert 2.

"Even so the predetermined response chart calls for the Mobile Command and it would have helped greatly at the incident site," the report stated.

The response of the buses was also too slow. County leaders say this is because of the fact that KRT does not have extra drivers and buses ready to go at a moment's notice. County leaders want the airport to look into obtaining a bus for use during emergencies and special events.

During last week's incident, the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline chose not to take statements from passengers. County leaders believe the airport should have airport police interview passengers in the future.

Several other small issues were addressed in the report, but the airport was also praised for closing Airport Road. County leaders believed that helped enhance airport security.

During an meeting Monday, airport officials announced US Airways' insurance will pay $700,000 for the necessary repairs.

Airport officials say 240 tiles of the EMAS will be replaced. A crew with the company that makes the EMAS will spend four days prepping the site. Then, it should only take a day for the replacement.

The EMAS has 4,400 tiles. 160 were destroyed last week, but dozens of others were damaged.

Airport Director Rick Atkinson tells WSAZ.com that it's still safe to fly in and out of Yeager Airport. Pilots are just recalculating how much room they have to stop.

EMAS provides a soft stopping ground for pilots who determine takeoff isn’t safe.

The US Airways pilot told investigators he hit the brakes on the plane during takeoff when he noticed some warning lights flashing. It’s not clear yet what caused those lights to flash.

Airport officials told WSAZ.com on Monday that the plane skidded 2,000 feet and was traveling 65 MPH when the plane hit the blocks.

US Airways says its investigators are working with the National Transportation Safety Board to determine why their pilot aborted takeoff Tuesday at Yeager Airport.

EMAS stands for Engineered Material Arresting System. It provides a soft stopping ground for pilots who determine takeoff isn’t safe.

The goal is for the plane's wheels to get stuck in the several layers of foam and thin layer of concrete from which the blocks are made, which destroys portions of it. Destruction of the product is the goal because the engineers and manufacturers of EMAS say it is intended to save lives.

"The goal is to have some minor destruction of the product and not have any destruction of the airplane that would hurt people," Kent Thompson says. He is with ESCO-Zodiac Aero, the company that engineered and designed the EMAS system.

The US Airways pilot told investigators he hit the brakes on the plane during take off when he noticed some warning lights flashing. It’s not clear yet what caused those lights to flash.

US Airways says their investigators are working with the National Transportation Safety Board to determine why their pilot aborted takeoff Tuesday at Yeager Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board says not much can be released about the incident now. They are working to get the black boxes and other information needed to begin an investigation.

In the meantime, it’s clear that the EMAS did what it was supposed to do. It’s only been in place at Yeager Airport for about 18 months, after the federal government mandated airports that didn’t have an extra 1,000 feet of runoff on the runway had to install this safety measure.

Brian Belcher is the spokesperson for Yeager Airport. He says that they would like to see the EMAS replaced soon, but says flights operating in and out of Yeager now are still safe, because they are using the guidelines set in place prior to the EMAS being installed.

EMAS Engineers are now on the ground in Charleston taking a closer look at the incident. It’s an opportunity to look at what worked and what could be improved.

According to a US Airways spokesperson, passengers were "re-accommodated" with hotels, meals and new flights. Passengers who chose to drive after the incident were provided rental vehicles.

When asked how the pilot and crew were doing Wednesday after the incident, the spokeswoman told WSAZ.com that because there were no injuries, there was no further information being released.

The spokeswoman says she could not comment any further on the investigation, but to say they are working with the NTSB to sort things out.

The EMAS, which is extra area of the runway used to keep planes on the ground, is credited for saving 34 lives on board the plane leaving from Charleston's Yeager Airport bound for Charlotte, NC.

Airport spokesperson Brian Belcher says that engineers from EMAS will be at the airport Wednesday to assess what will need to be replaced. Belcher says that right now, there is only a very rough estimate of how much the damage will cost, but it's sitting at about $3.5 million.

Belcher says because the airport never dealt with this before, they are looking to see what kind of emergency funding might be available before any kind of insurance reimbursements might kick in. Belcher adds that the airline, US Airways, will also pick up some of the tab.

The EMAS is a safety over-run area that is 425 feet long and equals about 1,000 feet of regular runway. The EMAS consists of layers of foam that are anywhere from six to 20 inches deep, covered by a thin layer of concrete. The foam-like material allows the plane's wheels to stay put, which keeps the plane from taking off. The unit Tuesday prevented the plane from going over the mountainside when the pilot had to make an emergency stop.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are only 26 EMAS units nationwide.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating why the pilot aborted take-off.

At a news conference Tuesday evening, Yeager Airport officials said the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) did its job and saved all 34 lives. There were 30 passengers, one infant and 3 crew members on board.

The EMAS is a safety over-run area that is 425 feet long and equals about 1,000 feet of regular runway. The EMAS consists of layers of foam that are anywhere from six to 20 inches deep, covered by a thin layer of concrete.

Kanawha County Commissioner Dave Hardy says the plane's wheels embedded into the EMAS. There are skid marks on the runway several hundred feet long.

The EMAS safety system was installed in November 2008. It cost about $5 million.

"The EMAS system clearly saved a tragedy here," Commissioner Hardy said. "I think we've got a lot to be thankful for."

Officials say there appears to be no other damage to the plane.

Yeager airport will re-open once the plane is removed from the runway. That is expected to happen before midnight.

All outbound flights have been canceled, but airport officials say some inbound flights may still land Tuesday night. Everything is expected to be back to normal by Wednesday morning.

Brian Belcher, a spokesperson for the airport, tells WSAZ.com the flight aborted around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.

According to Yeager Airport's Twitter page (@YeagerAirport), the Canadair Regional Jet had 30 passengers and 3 crew members on board.

The runway will remain closed until the aircraft can be cleared from the runway.

The 50 passenger aircraft is a Canadair Regional Jet with 30 passengers, one infant and 3 crew members on board. There are no reported injuries at this time and

The plane went into the EMAS, which is a soft concrete that is placed at the end of the runway to stop airplanes that have overshot the runway.

No word on what caused the flight to abort take off. There were no injuries. All passengers are now off the plane and have been transported back to the terminal.

We have a crew on the scene. Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for updated information.