Captain Pierce told Lexi to be in his office at 0800, then commented that she was early. The clock on his side board shows 12:20 when he enters and talks to her.
When the 'overloaded' plane explodes from the fuel leak, the fuselage lifts a foot off the ground. It is obvious this was a completely empty hull being demolished, not the plane full of heavy cargo that was so desperately needed by the towns people.
When dealing with the crashed plane, no one makes any attempt to open the cargo door until Wheezer has been stabilized. After that, it only takes a few whacks with a extrication tool to break through the hatch, and start off-loading crates to allow access to the fuselage. They could've had that all done, and been working inside the plane to help the pilot, instead of doing it through a tiny cockpit window.