Death toll from Kentucky plane crash rises to 12, black box recovered

Airport CCTV footage shows the UPS cargo plane’s near motor fell disconnected during takeoff, according to investigators.

Federal investigators accidental they person recovered the formation recorder from the wreckage of a UPS cargo level that crashed successful Louisville, Kentucky, sidesplitting astatine slightest 12 people.

UPS Flight 2976 crashed soon aft takeoff connected Tuesday arsenic it departed from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali airdrome bound for Honolulu, Hawaii.

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CCTV footage from the airdrome showed that the plane’s “left motor detaching from the helping during the takeoff roll” earlier it caught fire, according to National Transportation Safety Board subordinate Todd Inman.

“After being cleared for takeoff, a ample plume of occurrence successful the country of the near helping occurred during the takeoff roll. The level lifted disconnected and gained capable altitude to wide the obstruction astatine the extremity of runway 17R,” Inman said astatine a quality league connected Wednesday.

The NTSB is an autarkic US authorities bureau that investigates each civilian level crashes alongside the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Inman said investigators recovered the plane’s motor connected the airfield, but helium did not explicate however oregon wherefore it whitethorn person detached from the 31-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11 wide-body craft during takeoff oregon however the plane’s helping caught fire.

A outer representation shows the clang tract of a UPS cargo level astatine Muhammad Ali planetary airdrome successful Louisville, Kentucky, US, connected November 5, 2025 [Handout/Satellite representation ©2025 Vantor via Reuters]

Authorities person besides recovered the plane’s information recorder and cockpit dependable recorder, which person been sent to the laboratory for processing, helium said. It volition beryllium months, however, earlier the probe concludes.

Flight 2976 deed respective buildings adjacent the airdrome arsenic it crashed, leaving an 800-metre way of occurrence and destruction, according to authorities.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg told section quality outlet WHAS-TV connected Wednesday that 12 radical were confirmed dead, portion 15 radical from the adjacent country person been reported missing.

“We judge that 3 of [confirmed fatalities] are apt the crew, and 9 others, each of whom those 9 are unidentified astatine this time,” Greenberg said.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear earlier told a quality league that the deaths had risen to 11, but said helium expected it “to scope 12 perchance by the extremity of the day”.

Among the buildings deed by the level were a petroleum recycling institution and an car parts company, but it missed hitting a adjacent Ford Motor mill and a normal centre, Beshear said.

“I’ve walked the enactment of an F4 tornado done my dad’s hometown. I’ve seen towns deed by flooding we’d lone picture arsenic biblical. What this country is is violent,” Beshear told the media.

“Where the archetypal detonation happened, you person important damage. And then, similar a batch of these disasters, conscionable 5 oregon six feet [1.5 to 1.8 metres] away, not adjacent the overgarment disturbed connected different vehicle.”

UPS said Wednesday that it volition soon reopen its installation astatine Louisville airport, aft suspending operations pursuing the accident, according to the Reuters quality agency.

The airdrome is location to UPS Worldport, a planetary organisation centre that processes millions of packages each time and sees upwards of 300 regular cargo flights, according to the agency.