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The death toll from a UPS cargo plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, has risen to at least nine, with fears that the number could increase further, Kentucky’s governor confirmed on Wednesday.
Search operations continued at the scene while flights at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport resumed.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, which was heading to Hawaii, went down shortly after taking off at around 5:15 pm (2215 GMT) on Tuesday. It burst into flames as it ploughed into nearby businesses near the airport perimeter. Investigators said the accident was caused by one of the engines catching fire and detaching during takeoff.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear described the incident as “heartbreaking” and “unimaginable”. In a message on X, he said: “I’m deeply saddened to share that the death toll has risen to 12, with several individuals still unaccounted for,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said on X.
“A significant search and rescue mission was underway overnight, which is continuing this morning,” he added.
UPS confirmed in a statement that three crew members were on board the aircraft but said it had not yet verified the number of casualties. The crash is believed to be the deadliest in the company’s history.
Louisville is home to the delivery giant’s main global hub, Worldport, where thousands of employees work, and package sorting operations have been suspended following the disaster.
Footage broadcast by local station WLKY showed the plane’s left engine on fire as it attempted to lift off. Aerial images later revealed a long trail of debris scattered across the crash site while firefighters battled thick smoke and flames. Beshear said the aircraft struck a petroleum recycling facility “pretty directly”.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed early Wednesday that runways were operational once again. Airport spokesman Jonathan Bevin said the plane crashed approximately three miles (five kilometres) south of the airfield.
UPS operates nearly 2,000 flights per day across more than 200 countries using a fleet of 516 aircraft, including both company-owned and leased planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
The tragedy comes during what has become the longest government shutdown in US history. Earlier on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of “mass chaos” as staffing shortages in air traffic control could force major disruptions, including possible airspace closures.
The incident follows a fatal mid-air collision in January, when an American Eagle passenger plane struck a US military Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people on board. That disaster ended a 16-year run without a fatal commercial aviation crash in the United States and has heightened concern over ageing infrastructure and staffing pressures within the national air traffic control system.
