LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The grim task of finding victims from the firestorm that followed the crash of a UPS cargo plane in Louisville, Kentucky, entered a third day Thursday as investigators gather information to determine why the aircraft caught fire and lost an engine on takeoff. The inferno consumed the enormous plane and spread to nearby businesses, killing at least 12 people, including a child, and leaving little hope of finding survivors in the charred area of the crash at UPS Worldport, the company’s global aviation hub. The plane had been cleared for takeoff Tuesday when a large fire developed in the left wing, according to Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation. Determining the cause of the fire and the engine failure could take investigators more than a year.
Within moments of takeoff, the plane managed to gain enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of the runway before crashing just outside Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder have been recovered, and the engine was discovered on the airfield. The crash and explosion had a devastating ripple effect, striking and causing smaller blasts at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and hitting an auto salvage yard. The child who was killed was reportedly with a parent at the salvage yard, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Survivors described the chaos as they witnessed the plane going down. “In that moment, I panicked. I turned around, ran through the bar screaming, telling everyone that a plane was crashing,” recounted bartender Kyla Kenady. As community support floods in for the victims' families, local authorities are working tirelessly to investigate the cause and ensure safety measures are enforced to prevent future tragedies.
Within moments of takeoff, the plane managed to gain enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of the runway before crashing just outside Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder have been recovered, and the engine was discovered on the airfield. The crash and explosion had a devastating ripple effect, striking and causing smaller blasts at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and hitting an auto salvage yard. The child who was killed was reportedly with a parent at the salvage yard, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Survivors described the chaos as they witnessed the plane going down. “In that moment, I panicked. I turned around, ran through the bar screaming, telling everyone that a plane was crashing,” recounted bartender Kyla Kenady. As community support floods in for the victims' families, local authorities are working tirelessly to investigate the cause and ensure safety measures are enforced to prevent future tragedies.
