KENTUCKY; At least seven people were killed and several others injured when a UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville International Airport in Kentucky on Tuesday evening. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, bound for Honolulu, burst into flames as it went down, striking nearby industrial buildings and setting them ablaze.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane, operating as UPS Flight 2976, crashed at around 5:15 p.m. local time (2215 GMT) after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. UPS confirmed that three crew members were on board, all feared dead.
Footage aired by CBS affiliate WLKY showed the plane taking off with one wing already on fire, moments before a massive explosion lit up the sky. Several warehouses near the runway caught fire, with plumes of thick black smoke visible miles away.
Louisville Metro Emergency Services imposed a shelter-in-place order for residents within a five-mile radius of the airport, as emergency teams battled the flames. Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed “multiple injuries” and urged the public to avoid the crash site.
FAA records revealed that the ill-fated MD-11 freighter was 34 years old. Boeing, which had acquired McDonnell Douglas and later discontinued the MD-11 line, said it was “deeply concerned” and would assist investigators.
Tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the plane briefly reached an altitude of 175 feet and a speed of 184 knots before suddenly descending. The aircraft had earlier flown a route between Louisville and Baltimore the same day.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it would lead the investigation, dispatching a team to Kentucky. It typically takes 12 to 24 months for the agency to determine the probable cause of such accidents.
UPS’s Louisville Worldport hub, one of the largest air cargo facilities in the world, temporarily suspended operations following the incident. The crash is expected to disrupt logistics for major companies, including Amazon, Walmart, and the US Postal Service.
