UPS Cargo Jet Crash in Louisville Kills at Least 13; Engine Detached

At least 13 people died when a UPS cargo plane crashed after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday evening, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Thursday, according to CBS News. The jet, a 1991-built McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter bound for Honolulu with three people aboard, went down at about 5:15 p.m. Eastern time, CBS and the Associated Press reported.

Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said a fire broke out on the left wing and the engine detached during takeoff, CBS reported. Video of the departure showed flames and smoke. The plane cleared the fence at the end of Runway 17R and then struck structures and terrain off airport property, leaving a debris field about a half-mile long.

The jet hit Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, causing smaller explosions, and Grade A Auto Parts, CBS reported. NBC reported that it was unclear how many of the dead were on the plane and how many were on the ground.

NBC News reported that investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, and CBS said Inman described heat around the device but no intrusion. Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency to speed resources to the area, CNBC, NBC and CBS reported. Inman said the NTSB team expects to remain at least a week, CNBC reported. The airport closed Tuesday evening and one runway reopened Wednesday morning, CNBC said, and UPS stated that it was “terribly saddened by the accident tonight in Louisville.” UofL Health said it received 15 patients, and 13 had been discharged by Wednesday morning, NBC News reported.

Maintenance records will be central to the inquiry. CBS reported that the aircraft was on the ground in San Antonio from Sept. 3 to Oct. 18, and Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said it apparently had heavy maintenance within the past month. Guzzetti said it is too early to know whether the problem lay in the engine, its mounting structure or elsewhere.