Kentucky UPS plane crash kills at least seven, firefighters continue search

LOUISVILLE: A UPS cargo aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday (local time) evening, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Tuesday confirmed the number of people killed in the UPS plane crash in Louisville is now “at least seven” and is expected to rise.

The aircraft, identified as UPS Flight 2976, was en route to Honolulu when it went down around 5:15 pm (local time). The FAA confirmed that the plane involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

“The news out of Louisville is tough tonight as the death toll has now reached at least 7, with that number expected to rise,” the governor said on X. “First responders are onsite and working hard to extinguish the fire and continue the investigation.”

The news out of Louisville is tough tonight as the death toll has now reached at least 7, with that number expected to rise. First responders are onsite and working hard to extinguish the fire and continue the investigation. 1/3

— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) November 5, 2025

The crash prompted a statement from UPS, which said it was “terribly saddened” by the incident that occurred Tuesday in Louisville. “Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is particularly true in Louisville, home to our airline and thousands of UPSers,” the company said.

UPS confirmed its active cooperation with authorities, saying, “We are engaged with the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the accident and are staying in close contact with the Federal Aviation Administration. We will work tirelessly with state and local authorities on response efforts”.

Meanwhile, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport is expected to reopen Wednesday, Mayor Craig Greenberg said during a news conference, providing some relief after the mass casualty incident. “The airport is closed for this evening, will be open tomorrow morning,” Greenberg said, noting that another news conference will be held Wednesday once the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrives on site, CNN reported.

Heartbreaking images coming out of Kentucky tonight.

Here’s an update from @FAANews
– UPS cargo flight 2976
– Crashed around 5:15 ET after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport en route to Honolulu
– The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

Please… pic.twitter.com/yE1Brhv8cQ

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 4, 2025

The NTSB is set to investigate the crash and hold briefings with officials. “NTSB is bringing in a full crew, 28 folks to start with,” Dan Mann, Executive Director at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, said Tuesday. “They’ll hit the ground running first thing tomorrow morning, and they’ll be working with all the mutual aid, all the first responders, collecting all the evidence. I expect they’ll be here for several days, putting all this together, and there’ll be multiple briefings”, he added, CNN reported.

On the ground, hundreds of firefighter personnel have nearly contained the fire caused by the crash and will search the area “grid by grid” for potential victims, Fire Department Chief Brian O’Neill said at a news briefing.

“When you have such a large scale incident and fire that spread over such a massive area, we have to use hundreds of personnel to surround it, contain it, and then slowly bring it in,” O’Neill said, adding the site is now safe enough for crews to put out remaining spot fires and “create a formal grid” to search the surroundings, CNN noted.

“These are trained firefighters from all around the region that are handling this to search, grid by grid, very carefully to make sure if we can find any other victims”, the chief said. (ANI)