At least nine people are confirmed dead after a UPS cargo aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday evening, prompting a large-scale emergency response and a federal investigation into one of the most serious U.S. aviation accidents in recent years.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said there were nine "known fatalities" at the scene, warning that the number "may rise throughout the day." He added, "There are no words that I can provide to any family members that are searching for information about someone that they may believe might have been near the scene of the crash that they haven't heard from yet."
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, operating as UPS Flight 2976, was bound for Honolulu when it went down approximately three miles south of the airfield. Authorities said the aircraft was carrying about 220,000 pounds of jet fuel at the time. Video footage showed the jet erupting into a fireball as it struck the ground, igniting structures in a nearby industrial area.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency to support search and recovery efforts and noted that officials were "very worried" about the three crew members believed to be on board. Congressman Morgan McGarvey, speaking the following morning, said "Louisville looked apocalyptic last night."
A wide debris field has complicated the response. Mark Little, chief of the Okolona Fire Protection District, said the area is "so large" that it will "take us quite a while" to complete recovery operations. He estimated the search would continue "at least a week or longer." Two local businesses sustained direct damage, and several workers remained unaccounted for as of Wednesday afternoon.
The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators overnight. McGarvey said, "They are going to analyze absolutely every bit of what happened," adding, "We're talking about everything that is man-made, that is machine-made, that is environmental, the NTSB is going to go over with a fine tooth comb." He also addressed speculation that the ongoing government shutdown could affect the response, saying there would be "no impact" on the investigation and "Every resource of NTSB is being brought to bear on this."
UPS temporarily closed its Worldport air hub at the airport, a major logistics center for the carrier. In a statement, the company said, "Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is particularly true in Louisville, home to our airline and thousands of UPSers."
Runway operations resumed Wednesday morning, though local authorities initially issued a shelter-in-place order extending up to five miles from the crash site. Louisville's public schools were closed for the day while emergency personnel continued site remediation and victim identification. The FAA and NTSB have begun coordinating data retrieval, including maintenance records and flight telemetry, as the investigation moves forward.
