Three people have died and 11 others are injured after a UPS cargo plane crashed while taking off from Louisville International Airport in the US state of Kentucky.
The crash occurred about 5:15pm, local time, on Tuesday as the plane was departing for Honolulu, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
A massive fire was ignited, leaving a thick plume of black smoke over the area. Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear confirmed the casualties and said there could be more.
“We believe we have at least three fatalities. I believe that number is going to get larger,” he said in a Tuesday evening press briefing.
The Louisville airport is home to UPS Worldport, a global hub for the delivery firm’s air cargo operations and its largest package handling facility in the world.
The plane, carrying more than 1,000 kilolitres of fuel, exploded after the crash. (AP: Brad Harvey)
The crash will likely disrupt deliveries for UPS, and its major customers, including Amazon AMZN.O and the United States Postal Service.
Mayor Craig Greenberg told WLKY-TV there could be about 1,059 kilolitres of fuel on the plane, an “extreme reason for concern in so many different ways”.
UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, which sits on the river bordering the Indiana state line.
There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.
The Louisville airport said the airfield was closed after the incident, while the Louisville Metro Police Department said it was responding to reports of a plane crash and that injuries had been reported.
“Kentucky, we are aware of a reported plane crash near Louisville International Airport. First responders are onsite, and we will share more information as available. Please pray for the pilots, crew and everyone affected. We will share more soon,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X.
According to FAA records, the MD-11 freighter involved in the crash was 34 years old.
Boeing BA.N, which owns the MD-11 program, declined to comment.
FlightRadar24 said the plane, which began operations with UPS in 2006, had flown from Louisville to Baltimore earlier on Tuesday before returning to Louisville.
The flight from Louisville to Honolulu typically takes eight-and-a-half hours, the flight tracking service said.
Reuters/AP
