At least four people were killed and 11 others injured when a UPS wide-body cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday, erupting into a massive fireball that ignited nearby buildings and sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky, authorities said.
The MD-11 freighter, operating as UPS Flight 2976, went down around 5:15 p.m. local time, moments after departing for Honolulu on what was to be an 8½-hour flight, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The plane was carrying three crew members, all of whom were feared dead. A fourth fatality occurred on the ground when fires from the crash spread through an industrial corridor near the airport, injuring 11 others, officials said.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear confirmed the deaths and warned the casualty toll could rise. “Some people have suffered very significant injuries,” Beshear said, as firefighters continued battling multiple blazes sparked by the explosion.
Local television footage from CBS affiliate WLKY captured the terrifying moment the aircraft, with one wing ablaze, plummeted to the ground and exploded into flames. Several buildings in the area were destroyed, forcing authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order within a five-mile (8-km) radius of the airport.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft climbed to an altitude of just 175 feet and reached 184 knots before making a sharp descent. FAA records indicate the MD-11, a 34-year-old plane built by McDonnell Douglas and later acquired by Boeing, had been in UPS service since 2006.
Aviation experts said investigators will examine whether an engine detached before the crash, as early footage appeared to show debris falling from the aircraft.
“It’s much too big a fire for a typical engine fire,” said veteran pilot and air safety analyst John Cox. “That airplane should have flown on two engines. We need to understand why it didn’t.”
UPS said it had yet to confirm crew fatalities, adding that it was cooperating with authorities. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is leading the investigation and has dispatched a team to the crash site.
Such probes typically take 12 to 24 months to determine the probable cause and issue safety recommendations.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg described the crash as a “tragedy that has shaken our entire city.” UPS, Louisville’s largest employer with about 26,000 workers at its Worldport global air hub, is deeply woven into the community’s identity.
“My heart goes out to everybody at UPS, because this is a UPS town,” said Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe, whose district includes the airport. “We all know someone who works there, and tonight, some of those families are waiting for calls that may never come.”
The airport remains closed, and the crash is expected to disrupt UPS’s global delivery network, affecting major clients including Amazon, Walmart, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
