How the UPS cargo plane crashed in Louisville, what we know about victims

A UPS cargo level crashed conscionable seconds aft taking disconnected from Louisville, Kentucky, connected Tuesday, erupting into a fireball that swept crossed an concern country adjacent the airport.

The craft was bound for Hawaii erstwhile it went down. Officials confirmed that astatine slightest 12 radical died, portion Kentucky’s politician warned that the decease toll is expected to rise.

The MD-11 freighter was bound for Honolulu, Hawaii, with 3 unit members connected board.

Here is what we know:

What happened astatine Louisville?

UPS Flight 2976 crashed soon aft taking disconnected from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport astatine astir 5:20 p.m. (22:20 GMT) connected Tuesday.

It climbed to an altitude of conscionable 50 metres (164ft) earlier crashing little than 2km (1.2 miles) from the airport’s bound and into an concern area.

According to reports, the craft veered disconnected the runway and collided with respective adjacent structures. It was carrying 144,000 litres (38,000 gallons) of substance erstwhile it crashed.

“There’s precise small to incorporate the flames, and truly the level itself is astir acting similar a weaponry due to the fact that of the magnitude of fuel,” aviation lawyer Pablo Rojas told The Associated Press quality agency.

UPS and FedEx inactive usage respective MD-11 cargo jets, a exemplary past built successful 2000. The companies are gradually retiring the planes arsenic they displacement to newer, much businesslike aircraft.

Smoke and flames emergence arsenic a UPS cargo level crashes successful Louisville, Kentucky [Reuters]

Where did the UPS formation crash?

Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport sits astir 11 km (7 miles) southbound of downtown Louisville, adjacent the Indiana authorities border.

The airdrome is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and is lone a abbreviated region from respective section landmarks.

The level struck 2 businesses adjacent the airdrome – Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts, an car salvage yard. The adjacent Ford Motor assembly plant, wherever thousands of workers physique SUVs, was not straight deed but experienced a impermanent powerfulness outage.

The airdrome resumed operations connected Wednesday, with astatine slightest 1 runway open.

How did the level crash?

The level roseate to astir 53 metres (175 feet) and reached a velocity of 184 knots earlier abruptly dropping, according to Flightradar24 data.

During the takeoff rotation oregon soon thereafter, surveillance footage and archetypal investigations showed that the near motor detached from the wing. A occurrence erupted successful the near helping region, apt triggered oregon exacerbated by the motor separation.

The level lifted disconnected and cleared the extremity of the runway fence, but past crashed into adjacent concern buildings disconnected airdrome property, creating a fireball and debris tract stretching astir 0.8km (0.5 miles).

The motor was recovered connected the crushed astatine the airport, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials said successful a quality briefing connected Wednesday.

“We person viewed airdrome CCTV information coverage, which shows the near motor detaching from the helping during the takeoff roll,” NTSB subordinate Todd Inman said during a quality league Wednesday afternoon.

According to section media reports, the clang caused a devastating concatenation reaction, triggering smaller explosions astatine Kentucky Petroleum Recycling.

Smoke rises from the wreckage of a UPS MD-11 cargo pitchy aft it crashed connected departure from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport successful Louisville, Kentucky [Jeff Faughender/USA Today Network/Reuters]

Flightradar24 said the plane, which began operations with UPS successful 2006, had flown from Louisville to Baltimore earlier connected Tuesday earlier returning to Louisville.

Jeff Guzzetti, a erstwhile national clang investigator, told The Associated Press it’s inactive excessively soon to find whether the contented during the clang originated successful the motor itself, the operation supporting it, oregon different portion of the aircraft.

“It could person been the motor partially coming disconnected and ripping retired substance lines. Or it could person been a substance leak igniting and past burning the motor off. It’s conscionable excessively soon to tell,” helium said.

Investigators said they had located the aircraft’s formation information recorder and cockpit dependable recorder, oregon alleged achromatic boxes, and would beryllium taking the devices to Washington, DC, for analysis.

A outer representation shows the clang tract of a UPS cargo level astatine Muhammad Ali International Airport [Reuters]

What bash we cognize astir the victims?

Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear confirmed that 12 radical person died truthful far, but warned that 16 families had reported loved ones who stay unaccounted for.

Beshear said helium did not cognize the presumption of the 3 UPS unit members connected committee the cargo plane. It was not wide if they were being counted among the dead.

Eleven different radical person been injured and are being treated successful infirmary – but section officials accidental that fig is besides apt to rise.

At a quality briefing, Beshear said authorities were inactive searching for missing radical but nary longer expected to find survivors. He added that a young kid was believed to beryllium among the victims.

I’m profoundly saddened to stock that the decease toll has risen to 12, with respective individuals inactive unaccounted for.

No 1 should look calamity alone. Please instrumentality a infinitesimal to hug your loved ones and cheque connected your neighbors. We volition proceed providing resources and enactment to…

— Mayor Craig Greenberg (@LouisvilleMayor) November 6, 2025