UPS Plane Crash in Louisville Kills at Least Seven

By Phil Helsel

At least seven people are dead after a UPS plane crashed as it was taking off late Tuesday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, causing a large fire and hitting an area with two businesses, officials said.

UPS Flight 2976, with three crew members on board, crashed around 5:15 p.m. departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

At least seven people are dead, Gov. Andy Beshear said on X Tuesday night, “with that number expected to rise.” He said earlier that at least 11 were injured.

Beshear called the event “a catastrophic crash.” The plane crashed adjacent to the airport, and a petroleum recycling business and an auto parts business are in the area that was hit, he said.

The auto parts business has accounted for all of its employees but two, “but they do not know how many other individuals, customers or others, could have been on site at the time,” Beshear said.

“Because of the nature of these facilities, it may be some time before we can account for everyone or know that no one else was on the grounds,” he said.

The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was headed to Honolulu, the FAA said. It crashed “when departing the West Runway,” according to the airport.

The crash happened 3 miles south of the airfield, said Officer Johnathan Biven, a spokesperson at the airport.

Video from the scene showed a large fire and huge plume of black smoke rising from the crash site. The plane had around 38,000 gallons of fuel on board, officials said.

Louisville Metro Emergency Services Director Edward Meiman said authorities were going door to door to make sure that businesses and facilities had everyone accounted for and have left the immediate area.

“Obviously, everybody can see how big this site actually is,” Meiman said. There were several explosions after the crash, he said.

Beshear said officials don’t believe there was any cargo on the plane that would cause an environmental impact. However, he said, the area where the crash occurred could create an environmental impact. He urged people to obey shelter-in-place orders.

Police said people in areas north of the Outer Loop to the Ohio River should shelter in place.

A shelter-in-place order had initially included a 5-mile radius, and Meiman said the fire was so hot “it was kind of creating its own atmosphere and doing really what it wanted to do.”

UPS has a large presence in Louisville. UPS Air Operations is headquartered in the city, where it also has its main hub.

UPS began its overnight air service with its main hub at the airport, known by the letters SDF, in 1982.

UPS is the biggest employer in the Louisville area, with around 25,000 people working for the company there. Around 400 flights arrive and depart each day at its hub, the city says on its website.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will investigate, the agencies said. The NTSB said it was sending a team to the site.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on X called the images out of Kentucky “heartbreaking.”

“Please join me in prayer for the Louisville community and flight crew impacted by this horrific crash,” he wrote.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Facebook that he and his team were monitoring the situation. “Thank you to the first responders on the scene. I encourage everyone in the area to follow emergency and law enforcement guidance,” he said.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said it was opening its training academy for victim reunification services.

Beshear asked Kentuckians to pray for those affected and to support those who may be concerned about their loved ones.

“Anybody who has seen the images and the video know how violent this crash is, and there are a lot of families that are going to be waiting and wondering for a period of time,” he said. “We’re going to try to get them that information as fast as we can.”

The area affected by the crash is around a city block-wide and includes fuel recycling storage and some bulk fuel storage in addition to the auto parts section, which caused challenges for firefighters, Louisville Fire Chief Brian C. O’Neill said.

The fire was contained Tuesday night, O’Neill said.

“That’s still going to be a mess in that area,” he said.

Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey said he expected the area to be “an ongoing, active scene for the next several days,” and he did not know when it would be safe enough for investigators to go in.

UPS said it was halting package sorting operations at the airport facility, called Worldport, Tuesday night. It said family members seeking information can call 800-631-0604.

“We are terribly saddened by the accident tonight in Louisville. Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved,” the company said in a statement.