In brief
A UPS cargo plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, has left at least 12 dead, including a child. Investigators focus on why the aircraft caught fire and lost an engine during takeoff. Eyewitness accounts detail the chaos of the crash, while the search for victims continues. The incident has drawn comparisons to a historic aviation disaster from 1979, raising concerns about pre-flight maintenance procedures.
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 with three people aboard had been cleared for takeoff Tuesday when a large fire developed in the left wing, said Todd Inman of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation. But determining the cause of the fire and the engine detachment could take over a year.
The aircraft gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the runway's end before crashing just outside Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder have been recovered, and the engine was found on the airfield.
The crash and explosion had a devastating ripple effect, causing smaller blasts at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and impacting an auto salvage yard. According to Gov. Andy Beshear, the child who was killed was at the salvage yard with a parent.
Some who heard the explosion and saw the smoke were still in shock a day later. Kyla Kenady, a bartender at Stooges Bar and Grill, described witnessing the plane go down in flames.
Authorities predict that the death toll could rise as they continue to search for a “handful of other people,” although they do not expect to find any additional survivors.
University of Louisville Hospital confirmed that two people are in critical condition in the burn unit, with 18 others treated and discharged from local hospitals.
The UPS cargo plane crash carries similarities to a historical event from 1979 involving a DC-10, which also suffered engine failure. Experts are questioning whether recent maintenance played a role, as the UPS flight had previously been on the ground for several weeks but the details of its maintenance remain unclear.
The airport resumed operations Wednesday, while the investigation into the causes of the crash continues.
