At least 12 people are dead after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, in one of the most serious aviation accidents in the United States this year. UPS Flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter bound for Honolulu, came down at about 5.15pm local time on Tuesday, 3 November, close to the company’s vast Worldport hub, sending a huge fireball into the sky and igniting fires across an industrial area beside the airport.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the death toll had reached at least 12 by Wednesday evening and warned it could rise further, noting that several of the injured had suffered very significant wounds. Three crew members aboard the aircraft were killed, and the other victims were people on the ground, including a young child. Eleven others were injured. UPS on Thursday named the three pilots killed as Capt. Richard Wartenberg, 1st Officer Lee Truitt and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond.
The plane, loaded with about 38,000 gallons of fuel, crashed into the nearby Kentucky Petroleum Recycling building after departing from Louisville airport. Video footage showed fire on the aircraft’s left wing as it took off, followed by a trail of smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed several large above-ground storage tanks at the recycling facility broke open and fell over, and the facility remains closed while the National Transportation Safety Board investigates.
Engine detached on the runway
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday that airport surveillance footage showed the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll, and that a large fire had developed in the left wing after the aircraft was cleared for takeoff. The plane gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of the runway before crashing just outside the airport. Preliminary flight data put the aircraft at 475 feet and travelling at 183 knots at the time of the crash, according to NTSB officials.
The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder — the “black boxes” — were recovered on Wednesday and appeared intact despite the post-crash fire, the NTSB said. The left engine was found on the airfield. A 28-member NTSB team is leading the inquiry, and a full investigation typically takes 12 to 24 months.
A replacement aircraft
NTSB officials said on Thursday that the plane had been on the ground in San Antonio for six weeks before the crash, from 3 September to 18 October, and that it may have been used as a replacement shortly before takeoff because of maintenance issues with the originally scheduled aircraft. Investigators stressed it was far too early to say what caused the disaster, and that the engine separation, a possible fuel leak and the fire are all under examination.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced the toll of 12 on Wednesday evening. The airport resumed operations on Wednesday with at least one runway open, and rescue work continued as 16 families gathered at a reunification centre for news of loved ones.
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