A cargo aircraft belonging to United Parcel Service (UPS) crashed while taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) on Tuesday evening, causing a massive explosion and fire that engulfed nearby facilities. Officials confirmed at least nine people are dead, 11 injured, and approximately 16 individuals remain unaccounted for as of Wednesday morning.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane, fully fueled for a long haul to Honolulu, carried about 38,000 gallons of fuel when it took off and went down around 5:15 p.m. local time.
The intense flames and dense smoke extended nearly a mile from the crash site, and first responders reported they required hours to extinguish the fire.
Nearby businesses, including a recycling centre and auto-parts suppliers, were damaged in the blast and fire. A “shelter-in-place” order was initially declared within a roughly one-mile radius, later narrowed to a quarter-mile as air-quality tests permitted.
Airport operations and cargo hub processing at UPS’s Worldport facility were disrupted: flight departures and arrivals were delayed or cancelled, and significant portions of the ground crew were asked not to report.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are expected on-site to determine the cause of the accident, which may take weeks or months to complete. Officials emphasize the community is still in the “life-safety phase” of response and door-to-door checks continue in the area.
Important Key Points:
- At least 9 confirmed fatalities, 11 injured, and around 16 missing following the crash.
- The aircraft was a UPS MD-11 cargo plane fully fuelled for a long-haul flight.
- Fires spread to nearby business facilities, prompting shelter-in-place orders and access restrictions.
- Airport and cargo hub operations suspended or delayed; ground crews impacted.
- NTSB investigation launched; full findings expected to take significant time.
