A cargo plane of United Parcel Service (UPS) crashed and exploded in a massive ball of fire shortly after takeoff in Kentucky in the United States, killing at least seven people and injuring 11. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the toll was expected to rise further as the aircraft crashed into two businesses near the airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane went down around 5.15 pm near the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as it was departing for Honolulu
A dramatic video captured flames shooting from the plane’s left wing and a thick trail of smoke moments before impact. The aircraft briefly lifted off the ground before slamming back onto the runway and erupting into a massive fireball. Nearby footage showed a building’s roof torn apart, debris scattered across the tarmac.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the fire was fuelled by the large amount of jet fuel onboard. “My understanding is that there were about 280,000 gallons of fuel on the plane,” Greenberg told WLKY-TV. “That is an extreme reason for concern in so many different ways.”
The crash site is near UPS’s largest air hub, a sprawling logistics centre that operates 300 flights a day and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour. Thousands of employees work at the facility.
The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was built in 1991 and joined UPS’s fleet in 2006, according to FlightRadar24 data. The freighter had flown from Louisville to Baltimore earlier Tuesday before returning for its next trip to Hawaii — a journey that usually takes about eight and a half hours.
FAA records show the aircraft was 34 years old. Boeing, which owns the MD-11 program, declined to comment.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said first responders were at the scene and that updates would follow. “Kentucky, we are aware of a reported plane crash near Louisville International Airport,” Beshear posted on X. “Please pray for the pilots, crew, and everyone affected. We will share more soon.”
Authorities ordered residents north of the airport to shelter in place due to heavy smoke and possible hazardous fumes. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA are expected to lead the investigation into what caused the crash.
Source: India Today