Engine detached from UPS plane on takeoff, NTSB says; at least 12 killed, including child, in crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE/AP) - First responders continued searching for more victims Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball at the company’s global aviation hub in Kentucky.

At least 12 people were killed, including a child, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced during late Wednesday.

Approximately 16 other families reported loved ones who were unaccounted for.

EN ESPAÑOL | Sube el número de muertos en choque de un avión de UPS que causó enorme explosión

An NTSB spokesperson said preliminary investigations revealed that the left engine detached from the wing during takeoff.

Videos from witnesses show the engine was on fire at the time of departure, according to officials.

The plane crashed at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville.

EN ESPAÑOL | Sube el número de muertos en choque de un avión de UPS que causó enorme explosión

“UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 4, after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide all updates,” the FAA 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,” the company shared.

Three crewmembers were onboard at the time of the crash, according to UPS.

Several businesses located near the airport, including a recycling facility and an auto parts store, were heavily damaged by debris, according to the governor.

A shelter-in-place was issued for locations within several miles of the airport because of the property surrounding the scene that was impacted by crash debris.

“It is still a very dangerous situation with different flammables or potentially explosive materials,” Beshear said.

The official cause of the crash has not been reported at this time, but the flight data recorder devices have been located, officials said on Wednesday afternoon.

The National Transportation Safety Board is taking the lead in the investigation, and officials are on their way to Kentucky.

‘We all know somebody who works at UPS’

UPS said it was “terribly saddened.” The Louisville package handling facility is the company’s largest. The hub employs more than 20,000 people in the region, 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.

The governor said The Team Kentucky Emergency Relief Fund, typically used to help people in natural disasters, is accepting donations to help with funeral expenses and other hardships.

“In Kentucky, we grieve together and we support one another,” Beshear said.

Desperate to find loved ones

Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy, where people gathered waiting for word of their missing loved ones Tuesday night. He said his girlfriend, who had been at a metal recycling business near the explosion, wasn’t answering her phone. Her phone’s live location said she was still there.

“We don’t even want to think about anything but the best,” a friend, Bobby Whelan, said. “All our friends were there.”

Stooges Bar and Grill bartender Kyla Kenady said lights suddenly flickered as she took a beer to a customer on the patio.

“I saw a plane in the sky coming down over top of our volleyball courts in flames,” she said. “In that moment, I panicked. I turned around, ran through the bar screaming, telling everyone that a plane was crashing.”

Manager Lynn Cason said explosions, only about 100 yards (90 meters) away, shook the building three times — “like somebody was bombing us” — but no one there was injured.

“God was definitely with us,” Cason said.

What happened to the plane?

Flight records show the plane was on the ground in San Antonio from Sept. 3 to Oct. 18.

Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said a number of things could have caused the fire as the UPS plane was rolling down the runway.

“It could have been the engine partially coming off and ripping out fuel lines. Or it could have been a fuel leak igniting and then burning the engine off. It’s just too soon to tell,” Guzzetti said.

He said the crash bears a lot of similarities to one in 1979 when the left engine fell off an American Airlines jet as it was departing Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, killing 273 people.

Guzzetti said this UPS plane and the American plane were equipped with the same General Electric engines. The 1979 crash involved a DC-10, but the MD-11 UPS plane is based on the DC-10.

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Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Jonathan Mattise and Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed.