7 Dead After UPS Plane Crashes on Takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky

A United Parcel Service Inc. freighter jet crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff on Tuesday from Louisville, Kentucky, killing three crew members and at least four people on the ground.

Video circulating on social media showed the Honolulu-bound McDonnell Douglas MD-11 struggling to get airborne, with one of its engines on fire, before exploding in a fireball beyond the end of the runway. Another clip posted by local news station WLKY showed a large area of the ground on fire in the aftermath of the crash. Plumes of smoke were .

At least 11 people were also injured, and the number of casualties is likely to increase after the crash, which occurred around 5:15 p.m. local time, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a .

UPS an MD-11 with three crew was involved in an accident and it hadn’t confirmed any injuries or casualties. Boeing Co., which took over McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said it stands ready to support its customer and has offered technical assistance to the National Transportation Safety Board. The company said it will “work tirelessly” with state and local authorities on response efforts.

In a statement on X, UPS said it’s working with the NTSB and staying in close contact with the Federal Aviation Administration. The company also said it halted package sorting operations for the evening at the facility, home to UPS’ main global hub and known as Worldport.

The cause of the crash hasn’t been identified. Typically such incidents are triggered by one or more operational, mechanical and environmental factors, established by investigators over weeks and months.

A still shot from the video shot by a passerby. (Bloomberg)

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 the 34-year-old aircraft, designated as UPS Flight 2976, reaching takeoff speeds and climbing to around 175 feet (53 meters) before plummeting to the ground.

“Anybody who has seen the images and the video know how violent this crash is,” Beshear told reporters at a briefing earlier on Tuesday. He added there was no word yet on the status of the three crew members onboard the jet.

Several explosions, a lingering fire and potentially flammable debris at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali airport complicated the efforts of emergency crews looking for victims and securing the area, authorities told reporters.

The incident adds to a deadly year for global aviation. Just three weeks ago, a cargo plane skidded off the runway and at Hong Kong International Airport, killing two ground crew. In June, 241 people died on an Air India flight that just after takeoff, and in January a US Army helicopter with an American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet on approach to Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington.

The crash also comes at a time of widespread across America caused by air traffic controller shortages since the US government shutdown began Oct. 1.

The FAA and the NTSB will investigate, with the latter air accident body leading the probe, the FAA said. The NTSB said its investigative team will arrive Wednesday.

The three-engine widebody jet, a stretched version of the DC-10, was launched in 1986 but was eclipsed by more efficient twin-engine models like Boeing’s 777. UPS operated 27 of the type as of Sept. 30, according to a company filing, and is one of the biggest operators of MD-11s followed by rival FedEx Corp.

The aircraft involved in the accident was originally built for Thai Airways International in the early 1990s before being converted into a freighter about 20 years ago for UPS. The plane was powered by three General Electric Co. CF6 engines.

Other accidents involving UPS operations include UPS Flight 6 in September 2010, when a Boeing 747-400F crashed near Dubai after experienced an in-flight cargo fire, killing both crew members. In August 2013, an Airbus A300-600F crashed short of the runway in Birmingham, Alabama, killing the captain and first officer. fatigue, pilot error and subsequent aircraft instability as probable causes for the crash.

Information gathered so far from the Kentucky crash site suggests at least two businesses were hit, including a petroleum recycling company and an autoparts shop. Those businesses have accounted for all but two of their employees, Beshear said.

However, “they do not know how many other individuals, customers or others could have been onsite at the time,” he said, adding that it may take a while for officials to determine that information.

Top photo: The scene at Muhammad Ali Airport Tuesday. (Bloomberg)