Just before a UPS cargo plane crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff on Tuesday evening in Louisville, Ky., the left wing of the plane caught fire and the left engine detached during takeoff, officials said. At least nine people died and several others were injured in the crash.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have been at the scene of the crash to investigate what happened and why it happened and to recommend changes to prevent the same kind of incident from happening in the future, an NTSB member said.
“We have viewed airport CCTV security coverage, which shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll,” NTSB member Todd Inman said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The video has not been released by the NTSB.
“This and other videos, along with evidence we were finding, are very valuable assets to our investigators and helping us hone further which areas we were going to be focusing on as we move into further days of the investigation,” Inman said. Investigators also found the black boxes from the cargo plane, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.
“Once we get these to our lab in DC, that we will be able to get a good read out of the applicable data, and that will be yet another point of information that will really help us understand what happened,” Inman explained.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and mobilized the state’s National Guard to quickly move resources in response to the crash. The governor said during a news conference that he will tour the site of the UPS cargo plane crash on Wednesday and will be joined by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
Beshear said that the death toll is likely to rise. “I’m now fairly confident that that number will grow by at least one. We hope it doesn’t grow by too many more,” the governor told reporters at the state Capitol.
Greenberg said on Tuesday night that at least four people had been killed on the ground, while UPS said the plane had a crew of three people. Beshear said he didn’t know the status of the crew members on board.
Beshear said 16 different families have reported loved ones who are unaccounted for, and a significant search and rescue mission was still underway as of Wednesday afternoon. “There is a significant amount of resources in the search and rescue and, ultimately, what is probably by now the recovery effort that is occurring,” Beshear said.
UPS Flight 2976 crashed at around 5:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The cargo plane was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991. The flight was not delayed, and no maintenance work was done immediately before the crash, according to the NTSB. Video of the crash showed flames from the cargo plane’s left wing with a trail of smoke. The plane lifted off the ground before crashing and bursting into flames. The crash ignited 38,000 gallons of jet fuel, creating a trail of billowing flames.
Fire and smoke mark where a UPS cargo plane crashed on Tuesday in Louisville. (Stephen Cohen/Getty Images)
“Louisville looked apocalyptic last night,” said Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey during the mayor’s press conference. “The images of smoke coming over our city, of debris falling in every neighborhood, people trapped in their homes.”
Emergency officials had issued a shelter-in-place order for a 5-mile radius, as the airport is a few miles from downtown Louisville and close to residential areas. That shelter-in-place order was updated on Wednesday morning to include only those within a quarter-mile radius of the airport. The mayor stated that residents are safe to drink the water unless they have been specifically notified otherwise.
Beshear said 18 fire departments responded to the scene on Tuesday night. “In total, over 50 trucks responded … a surge of resources to respond to a very significant explosion and fire,” the governor said. Along with declaring a state of emergency, Beshear said he has “taken action to establish the Team Kentucky Emergency Relief Fund to help those affected” by the UPS cargo plane crash. “Donations will help pay for funerals and for response, recovery and rebuilding,” the governor added.
Greenberg said the Jefferson County coroner is at the crash scene and is working to identify the victims.
NTSB investigators are expected to be at the scene for at least a week to examine the half-mile-long debris field. The agency has asked residents who find debris to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
