LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A UPS cargo plane tragically crashed and erupted into a fiery explosion on Tuesday while attempting to take off from the company’s global aviation center in Louisville, Kentucky. The incident resulted in the loss of at least seven lives and left 11 individuals injured, according to local authorities.
The disaster struck around 5:15 p.m. as the aircraft was set to depart for Honolulu from the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Footage captured during the event showed flames engulfing the plane’s left wing, accompanied by a thick trail of smoke. The aircraft briefly lifted off the runway before plummeting back down and bursting into a massive fireball. The video also depicted the roof of a nearby building severely damaged, lying in shreds at the runway’s edge.
Among those injured, several sustained “very significant” injuries, stated Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
“Anyone who has witnessed the images and footage understands the violent nature of this crash,” he commented.
Governor Beshear added that the condition of the three crew members on board the aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 manufactured in 1991, remains unknown.
UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered. My heart goes out to those families and those friends.”
UPS acknowledged the crash in a brief statement and said the National Transportation Safety Board would handle the investigation.
The airport, meanwhile, was shut down and wasn’t expected to resume operations until Wednesday morning.
“We don’t know how long it’s going to take to render that scene safe,” said Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey.
The governor said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly,” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.
A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row, followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke. Rodriguez told the AP she and her husband just happened to be in the area at the time of the explosion.
Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the crash “just rocked the whole place.”
“This was massive. I mean, it literally looked like a war zone,” he said.
Destyn Mitchell said she was working as a host at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash, when she heard a loud boom. About 20 people were in the restaurant.
“The mood in the restaurant was very shaken up,” Mitchell said. “Everyone is really concerned. People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under 30 minutes and packed up their food because they wanted to hurry up and get home.”
Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said that based on the videos it looked like the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines. Given the large amount of fuel it was carrying, once the fire started in that area, it would’ve been only a matter of time before there was an explosion or the fire grew rapidly.
“Really the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.
The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, which sits on the Ohio River bordering the Indiana state line. There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.
A UPS statement reads, “Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. We are terribly saddened by the accident tonight in Louisville. Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is particularly true in Louisville, home to our airline and thousands of UPSers. We are engaged with the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the accident and are staying in close contact with the Federal Aviation Administration. We will work tirelessly with state and local authorities on response efforts. As a result of the accident, we are halting package sorting operations tonight at Worldport. Family members seeking information should call 800-631-0604.”
Golden reported from Seattle. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
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