UPS Louisville plane crash: Victim search continues, operations disrupted
The search for victims continues after the fiery crash of a UPS wide-body cargo plane at the Louisville, Kentucky, airport on Tuesday afternoon, with nine confirmed dead so far.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear posted on social media Wednesday morning that “the number of those lost has now risen to at least 9, with the possibility of more.”
About an hour earlier, when there were seven fatalities reported, Beshear had posted there were also 16 different families reporting loved ones that are unaccounted for.
Officials opened a reunification center Tuesday night in Louisville for people to report missing loved ones from the site of the crash near UPS’ global air hub at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
A search and rescue effort that began Tuesday evening continued Wednesday morning.
Louisville is UPS’ global air hub, known as the Worldport, and operations for the company also continue to be hampered, including “Next Day Air” operations.
Sandy Springs-based UPS in a statement Tuesday said it was “terribly saddened” by the accident. “Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved.”
UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. after taking off from Louisville to Honolulu, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In addition to fatalities, Louisville airport authorities on Tuesday evening also reported 11 people injured.
The plane was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, a wide-body cargo jet with more than 250,000 pounds of jet fuel on board, according to Louisville fire Chief Brian O’Neill.
Aerial video from CBS News appeared to show some buildings and parking lots on fire near the airport, and Beshear said two businesses affected were Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts.
Officials issued a shelter in place order Tuesday evening, with the area under the order narrowed to a quarter-mile radius by Wednesday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, with a “go team” expected to land in Louisville on Wednesday.
UPS operations challenged
Louisville’s airport suspended flights Tuesday evening and UPS said it also halted its overnight operations there and canceled its “Next Day Air” parcel sort. On Wednesday morning, UPS said it would also cancel its “Second Day Air” sort for the day at its Louisville hub, saying employees on the Second Day Air sort should not report to work.
The airport has reopened one runway, though airport officials said flight delays and cancellations were likely Wednesday.
UPS posted a service alert on its website saying scheduled delivery times for air and international packages might be affected by the plane crash.
“Contingency plans are in place to help ensure that shipments arrive at their final destinations as quickly as conditions permit,” UPS posted.
Louisville’s mayor announced Tuesday evening the city lit a prominent pedestrian bridge near its downtown in yellow to honor the flight.
“This is a UPS town, “Louisville City Councilwoman Betsy Ruhe said Tuesday.
UPS’ Louisville global package handling facility, which it calls Worldport, has about 20,000 employees and 300 daily flights. The operation sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
Worldport is also home to the company’s cargo airline, which has about 3,300 pilots and operates more than 500 aircraft.
About the Authors
As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and writes business stories. She graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern.
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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