On the evening of November 4 (local time), a UPS transport aircraft, numbered UPS 2976, type McDonnell Douglas MD-11, crashed right after leaving Louisville International Airport Ali Muhammad, Kentucky, USA.
The plane took off at 5:15 p.m. to fly to Honolulu, Hawaii, but crashed just minutes later, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) said rescue, fire and emergency units were mobilized to the Fern Valley Road - Grade Lane area where the plane crashed. Many people were injured, the LMPD confirmed, but declined to provide specific figures.
Video circulating on social media shows a giant column of black smoke rising, engulfing the area near the airport. Witness accounts for the loud explosion and fierce fire after the plane crash.
Local authorities described the scene as "an area of fire and explosion and full of debris," and called on people not to approach the scene.
The LENSAlert emergency warning system has issued an home-in-house order for the entire area within an 8km radius around the airport. Please stay away from the area until further notice, the announcement emphasized.
This was the most serious incident ever to hit near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, one of the largest cargo transit hubs in the US and the global warehouse of the UPS Transportation Group.
The cause of the plane crash and the status of the crew are not yet clear. The FAA and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSB) have begun investigating the scene. UPS said it is working closely with authorities and giving top priority to the safety of staff and the community.
witnesses near the scene said they felt the ground shaking as the plane crashed, followed by a massive explosion and a fire tens of meters high. Many roads around the airport have been blocked to serve rescue and investigation.
Local authorities warned that the situation is still very dangerous because many fuel tanks were broken, which could cause a widespread fire. A firefighter at the scene told the media that the dense smoke and the extreme heat made it difficult to reach the central area.
The authorities said they will update information about the number of casualties after verifying the identities of the crew members and checking the surrounding residential area.
