A UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday evening, killing at least seven people and injuring 11 others as a massive fireball and plumes of smoke ripped through nearby businesses and airport property, officials said.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, operating out of UPS’s global air hub in Louisville and bound for Honolulu, crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time while climbing after liftoff, witnesses and authorities said. Video and surveillance footage showed the aircraft burst into flames and strike ground infrastructure, igniting fires that quickly spread to adjacent buildings.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear confirmed at a briefing that at least seven people were dead and 11 were receiving treatment at local hospitals; he said the number of casualties could rise as emergency crews continued search and rescue operations. Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg urged residents to avoid the area and to heed safety orders from first responders.
Officials said some of the fatalities occurred on the ground — the crash struck at least two businesses, including a petroleum-recycling facility and an auto parts operation, which were “engulfed” in flames, according to the governor. Local authorities had temporarily issued a shelter-in-place order for neighborhoods near the airport because of heavy smoke and debris, later narrowing the restriction as conditions evolved.
UPS confirmed the aircraft had three crew members on board. Early reports indicated all three crew were aboard during the takeoff; officials said they were “very concerned” for the flight crew after viewing video of the crash. The airline and federal regulators offered condolences and said they were cooperating with investigators.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened a formal investigation; the NTSB said it was deploying investigators to the scene to determine the cause of the accident. Federal and local emergency teams worked through the night to extinguish fires, secure the site, and search for any remaining victims or debris.
UPS said the flight had been operating out of its Louisville Worldport hub, a major global sorting facility. The crash prompted partial shutdowns and disruptions at the facility and the airport; authorities warned of significant impacts to operations and local traffic as cleanup and investigation continue.
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