UPS cargo jet crash in Louisville kills at least seven, sparks massive fire

At least seven people have died after a UPS cargo jet burst into flames while taking off from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday evening, slamming into nearby businesses and setting off a huge fire.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11, operating as UPS Flight 2976, went down around 5:15pm local time (22:15 GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight was bound for Honolulu.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear called the scene “violent,” confirming at least seven deaths and warning the toll could rise.

“Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is,” he said. “We have at least 11 injuries, some of them very significant.”

UPS said three crew members were on board but has not released their conditions. The Associated Press reported that four of those killed were not on the aircraft.

The jet reportedly ploughed into two nearby businesses, a petroleum recycling plant and an auto parts company, setting off explosions that forced police to issue a shelter-in-place order within an 8-kilometre (5-mile) radius.

“We have every emergency agency responding to the scene. There are multiple injuries and the fire is still burning,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said, calling the crash “an incredible tragedy.”

Aerial footage showed a scorched trail of wreckage and towering plumes of smoke as firefighters battled the blaze late into the night.

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. Louisville’s airport, which houses UPS’s Worldport, the largest package-handling facility on the planet, was closed after the crash.

UPS Worldport manages some 300 cargo flights a day for global clients including Amazon, Walmart, and the U.S. Postal Service. Analysts said the crash could cause temporary disruptions to deliveries across the country.

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft had flown to Baltimore earlier on Tuesday before returning to Louisville.