1 of 4 | NTSB members and FBI agents walk the runway looking for evidence from the UPS Flight 2976, an MD-11 that crashed Tuesday night after trying to take off from the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo
The death toll in a UPS plane crash in Louisville, Ky. rose to 11 on Wednesdsay, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency around the airport to handle the response.
During the afternoon briefing, the governor said one of the victims is believed to be “a young child at that, which makes it all the harder.” All three crew members are believed to have perished, though no victims have been identified
“There are a handful of other people that we’re still searching for, that we hope weren’t on site and that we hope were somewhere else,” Beshear said.
Beshear originally listed the death toll as 11but Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg shortly later told WHAS-TV said it rose to 12.
The governor said crews are moving from rescue mode to recovery mode, saying “we do not expect to find anyone else alive in the area.”
Beshear said he made the declaration to allow the state to mobilize resources more quickly, utilizing the Kentucky National Guard and the Emergency Management Department.
Also, he launched the Team Kentucky Emergency Fund where donations can be made for victims’ funerals, response efforts and rebuilding.
“This is a tough day for Kentucky after yesterday’s deadly plane crash,” Beshear said. “Right now, the families of those we lost need prayers, love and support. Let’s wrap our arms around them during this unimaginable time.”
A 28-member National Transportation Safety Board team arrived in Louisville on Wednesday morning to investigate the crash of UPS Flight 2976 to Honolulu shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Also, the FBI is assisting in the investigation.
“The FBI and other federal, state and local agencies often are partners to the NTSB on scene, collecting evidence, taking photographs, mapping and measuring the wreckage field and generally serving as a force multiplier for the NTSB go team,” the NTSB said in a post Wednesday.
The plane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data record, known as “black boxes,” were recovered.
“As you can imagine, it’s suffered some heat, not intrusion, but heat around it,” NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference. “These recorders are built for that.”
Despite the agency not analyzing the data yet, Inman gave some details on what happened.
He said a large plume of fire was spotted on the plane’s left wing after it was cleared for takeoff. The plane rose off the ground but then hit nearby structures and erupted into flames.
“We have viewed airport CCTV security coverage, which shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll,” Inman said.
Flames sparked fires a half-mile wide in the industrial zone adjacent to the airport, which is home to UPS Worldport, the “largest fully automated package-handling facility in the world,” according to the company. The hub processes about 2 million packages every day.
The crash was captured on truck driver’s dashcam obtained by WHAS-TV.
Photos and video, along with any debris, are being sought from the public.
NTSB traditionally gives a preliminary report a few weeks after the crash, with a full investigation taking 12 to 24 months.
“Where the plane hit and where the initial explosion happened, you have significant damage,” Beshear said.
“As governor, I’ve seen a lot. “I’ve had to order freezer trucks in a pandemic. I’ve walked the line of an F-4 tornado through my dad’s hometown. I’ve seen towns hit by flooding we only describe as biblical.”
Two people remain in critical condition at University of Louisville Health, hospital officials and Beshear said Wednesday.
The hospital system said it initially treated 15 patients at its centers, and 13 have been discharged.
People were hurt by shrapnel from the plane’s explosion, with burns ranging in severity from “very severe to minor,” University of Louisville Health CEO Dr. Jason Smith said during a media briefing.
The plane narrowly missed populated buildings.
The radius for those to shelter in place was reduced to a quarter-mile radius.
“This plane barely missed a restaurant bar,” Beshear told CNN. “It was very close to a very large Ford plant with hundreds, if not a 1,000-plus workers. It was very close to our convention center that’s having a big livestock show that people were arriving for. So, really tough, but recognize it could be worse.”
The UPS plane was a 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD11 freighter, CNN reported. The MD-11 was delivered to Thai Airlines when it was put into service in 1991. It was sold to UPS and converted to a freighter in 2006.
The company has 25 other MD-11s in service, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, and another six that have been in storage for at least the last three months. The company announced plans in 2023 to phase out the aircraft in favor of more fuel-efficient and newer planes.
The triple-engine jet took off from Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday and crashed at about 5:15 p.m. EST, soon after takeoff. Firefighters worked to contain the fire until it was fully extinguished at around 11 p.m. Tuesday. It took more than 100 first responders nearly six hours to get it under control, WLKY-TV reported.
It had 38,000 gallons of jet fuel on board for eight-hour flight to Hawaii.
Mayor Craig Greenberg said the first four confirmed deaths were not of people on board the plane.
Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., who represents Louisville, said on X: “I’m heartbroken that we’ve now lost at least nine people in last night’s tragic plane crash. Please join me in lifting up their loved ones and all who are still waiting on news.”
The airport is in the middle of the metro area. It’s surrounded by industrial business, including two that were affected by the crash, Grade A Auto Parts and Kentucky Petroleum Recycling.
The recycling facility recycles oil and petroleum products, and those products may have contributed to the size of the explosion. Grade A Autoparts is a facility where customers can remove parts from old cars on the lot.
Two workers from those businesses were missing, and it’s unclear how many customers were there at the time of the crash, WHAS11-TV in Louisville reported.
All flights in and out of the airport were canceled Tuesday evening, but the airport resumed operations Wednesday morning, though delays were expected.
All Jefferson County Public Schools will reopen on Thursday. All state office buildings in Kentucky will fly flags at half-staff through Sunday night, the governor announced.
Sorting at UPS Worldport in Louisville was canceled for Tuesday, which will mean some package deliveries will be delayed.
Twenty-four hours after the crash, UPS resumed flights, including at least 10 in 30 minutes just before 5 p.m., CNN reported.
UPS released a statement Tuesday night about the crash.
“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,” the statement said.
“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.”
