NTSB releases preliminary report on UPS plane crash
Charley Pereira, a former investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss a recent report concerning the UPS plane crash in Louisville. The investigation has yet to pinpoint an official cause, but footage reveals the left engine detaching during takeoff.
A man who sustained severe injuries in the blazing crash of a UPS cargo plane in Louisville, Kentucky, succumbed to his injuries more than seven weeks later. His passing raises the death toll from the accident to 15.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg named the deceased as Alain Rodriguez Colina, announcing that Colina passed away on Thursday after battling critical injuries from the crash.
“It is with heavy heart that I learned of the passing of Alain Rodriguez Colina,” Greenberg expressed in a post on X, Thursday evening. “Alain becomes the 15th victim of the UPS Flight 2976 tragedy. He sustained catastrophic injuries during the crash and left us earlier this Christmas Day. May his memory be a source of comfort.”
The UPS aircraft was already ablaze before the fatal incident occurred on November 4.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear responded to the increased death toll on X, encouraging people to “keep these families in their thoughts and prayers today and in the times ahead, ensuring they feel supported and loved.”
Colina’s death marks the latest development in one of the deadliest U.S. aviation disasters this year.
On Nov. 4, UPS Flight 2976 crashed moments after departing Louisville International Airport, slamming into a nearby industrial area and killing three crew members and 11 people on the ground.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that the Honolulu-bound cargo plane’s left engine separated from the aircraft and burst into flames shortly after takeoff.
Fire and smoke mark where a UPS cargo plane crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4, in Louisville, Kentucky. The fully fueled plane crashed shortly after takeoff with a shelter-in-place order issued for within 5 miles of the airport. (Stephen Cohen/Getty Images)
Black box data indicates that the plane only reached just 30 feet above ground level before the crash.
Airport surveillance footage shows the left engine and pylon separating from the wing shortly after the airplane rotated, with a fire igniting on the left engine, according to the NTSB report.
The left engine later slammed onto the ground, and a fire ignited near the left pylon attachment to the wing, which continued until the plane crashed into a nearby storage yard and two buildings, the report said.
CCTV footage from a Kentucky business showed the moment a UPS wide-body cargo plane went down on Nov. 4, 2025. (Kentucky Truck Parts & Service)
Investigators also said the left pylon’s aft mount broke, allowing the engine to detach, adding that they found tiny cracks that grew over time around boltholes in the mount, until it failed under normal stress.
