At least 12 people have died and more than a dozen are injured after a UPS cargo plane crashed while taking off from an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday evening.
Aviation experts believe the plane crashed after one engine failed and another appeared to be damaged during take-off. Footage showed a fire engulfed one wing of the aircraft, which may have caused an explosion, or the jet could have collided with an object on the ground.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recovered CCTV footage from the airport, showing the plane's left engine detaching during takeoff, and the flight data recorder is also included in the evidence. The fire, exacerbated by approximately 38,000 gallons of fuel onboard, destroyed multiple structures beyond the runway and burned for hours.
UPS uses Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as a distribution hub for its global operations, and Flight 2976 was set to embark on a long journey to Honolulu. Data showed the plane reached a top speed of 214mph (344km/h) before the catastrophic event occurred.
Officials issued shelter-in-place orders to residents as the fireball erupted, and footage confirms chaos as the aircraft descended into the surrounding area. Investigators are focusing on the fire's initiation and potential debris striking critical components of the aircraft.
The investigation aims to uncover whether mechanical failures led to the ensuing disaster, citing past incidents as potential indicators of underlying issues.
