At least 12 people have been confirmed dead after a UPS cargo plane crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday evening, following a catastrophic engine failure during takeoff.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, bound for Hawaii, burst into flames moments after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport at 5:15 pm (2215 GMT). The plane, carrying a three-person crew and around 38,000 gallons of fuel, crashed into nearby businesses, setting off massive explosions and fires.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 12, with several individuals still unaccounted for. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear described the tragedy as “heartbreaking” and “unimaginable.”
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), preliminary findings show that the aircraft’s left engine caught fire and detached from the wing during the takeoff roll. NTSB member Todd Inman stated that the detached engine was later found on the airfield, while the rest of the aircraft came down three miles south of the runway, narrowly missing a Ford assembly plant employing about 3,000 workers.
UPS confirmed that it has suspended operations at its massive Worldport hub in Louisville pending investigations. The crash is believed to be the deadliest in the company’s history.
Footage from local station WLKY showed flames engulfing the left engine as the aircraft attempted to lift off. Firefighters battled the blaze into the night as smoke billowed over the city.
The NTSB has recovered both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which will be analyzed in Washington, D.C. Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1996, has pledged to assist investigators.
Authorities are also examining whether staffing shortages caused by the ongoing U.S. government shutdown played any role in the incident, though officials say there’s no evidence of that so far.
As recovery efforts continue, officials have described the crash as one of Kentucky’s worst aviation tragedies in decades.
