A UPS cargo plane with three crewmembers on board crashed Tuesday near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) in Kentucky.
UPS Flight 2976 crashed at about 5:15 p.m. ET after departing from SDF, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and UPS.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, FAA officials said. The aircraft was likely loaded with jet fuel at the time of the incident, leading to a massive fireball explosion.
The Louisville Metro Police Department confirmed its officers, along with multiple other agencies, were responding to the crash, which happened near the UPS Worldport.
Fire and smoke mark where a UPS cargo plane crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Tuesday, in Louisville, Ky. The fully fueled plane crashed shortly after takeoff. (Stephen Cohen/Getty Images / Getty Images)
TRUMP ADMIN REVOKES APPROVAL OF 13 MEXICAN AIRLINE ROUTES TO US
Police said multiple people were injured, though UPS wrote in a statement it has not confirmed any injuries or fatalities.
“This is an active scene with fire and debris,” police wrote in an X post. “Stay away.”
The agency later issued an emergency shelter-in-place alert for all areas north of the airport to the Ohio River.
SDF noted all arriving and departing flights are temporarily suspended, and the airfield is closed.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, with the NTSB taking the lead.
Heavy smoke seen near Louisville airport after UPS plane crash
Heavy smoke was seen in Louisville, Ky., after a UPS cargo plane crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF). (Credit: Cole Snyd via X)
FLIGHT MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER CABIN CREW WAS ‘KNOCKING ON THE COCKPIT DOOR’ OVER COMMUNICATIONS ISSUE
“Kentucky, we are aware of a reported plane crash near Louisville International Airport,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote in a statement on social media. “First responders are onsite, and we will share more information as available. Please pray for the pilots, crew and everyone affected. We will share more soon.”
He later added the situation is “serious,” and said he was on his way to Louisville.
Anna McMullen, who lives seven minutes from the airport, told FOX Business her husband called her and thought “something was burning” downtown.
“All you could see in the sky around the airport was black smoke in billows,” McMullen said. “I heard explosions, and they are still going off, which means the plane could have hit the petroleum supply tanks.”
Smoke rises from the site of a UPS cargo plane crash near the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday. (Leandro Lozada/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
ALASKA AIRLINES RESTORES OPERATIONS AFTER WIDESPREAD TECHNOLOGY ISSUE GROUNDED FLIGHTS NATIONWIDE
She added that the normal pattern for the UPS planes is to be loaded before they take off.
“We have lived here 25 years and have never seen a UPS plane crash,” McMullen said. “The sun has set, but the smoke is still horrible. We can still hear the explosions.”
Ford, which has an assembly plant nearby, confirmed to FOX Business that its facility was not affected, and that all personnel are safe.
Aftermath of Kentucky UPS plane crash caught on camera
Video footage shows heavy smoke in the sky near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) in Louisville, Kentucky, after a plane crash Tuesday. (Credit: @augiewoo via X)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
UPS spokesperson Karen Tomaszewski Hill told FOX Business the company will release “more facts as they become available, but the National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation and will be the primary source of information about the official investigation.”
The Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Fire Department did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from FOX Business.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
