LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A fiery cargo plane crash at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killed at least nine people and shut down UPS’ largest package delivery hub.
Flights going in and out of Kentucky’s largest city were still interrupted Wednesday, a day after the crash.
Authorities were searching for additional victims in an industrial area next to the airport where the UPS plane slammed into businesses Tuesday afternoon and exploded, after taking off from the company’s distribution hub.
Several people on the ground were killed, Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said. About a dozen people were injured.
Here’s what is known about the crash.
A path of destruction
Video showed the plane’s left wing was on fire when it took off, moments before it crashed into an industrial area at the end of the runway.
The plane, bound for Honolulu and fully loaded with fuel, shredded the roof of one large building before erupting into a fireball near a metal recycling business.
The fire chief said the blaze stretched nearly a city block.
The plane narrowly missed a restaurant bar and went down not far from a Ford auto assembly plant where hundreds of people were working, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told CNN on Wednesday.
UPS halts operations
Package sorting at UPS’ mammoth handling facility in Louisville remained shut down Wednesday.
The hub — called UPS Worldport — employs thousands of workers, handles 300 flights daily and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe.”
UPS said the National Transportation Safety Board will handle the crash investigation. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was built in 1991.
Airport resumes flights
Flights at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport resumed operations Wednesday morning, with at least one runway open. Flights that were canceled Tuesday were prioritized, and some planes remained grounded.
Some stranded passengers spent the night in the airport.
Aviation expert reacts
Aviation attorney Pablo Rojas said video of the crash suggests the plane struggled to gain altitude as fire blazed along its left side near an engine.
“There’s very little to contain the flames, and really the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.
He said it’s hard to know if the pilot saw the flames, and that even if the crew realized there was a problem, aborting the takeoff might’ve been even more dangerous.
