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Louisville airport plane crash: UPS jet's black boxes retrieved; engine fell off before accident
Louisville airport plane crash: The black boxes, cockpit voice recorder, and the flight data recorder of the UPS jet were recovered
UPS plane crash in Louisville: The black boxes, cockpit voice recorder, and the flight data recorder of the jet that crashed after takeoff at Louisville International Airport on Tuesday were retrieved, authorities confirmed. This comes as at least 11 people died and several others were injured in the accident. The death toll is expected to climb as the investigation continues, officials said.
While the exact cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed, a federal investigator said on Wednesday that the UPS cargo plane's left wing caught fire and an engine fell off just before the accident.
Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the plane was cleared for takeoff. A large fire developed in the left wing. The plane gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of the runway before crashing off airport property, Inman added.
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He further cited airport security video to say that the left engine could be seen ‘detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll’.
“There are a lot of different parts of this airplane in a lot of different places,” he said.
Massive response at Louisville airport
The plane had three people on board when it crashed around 5:15 PM local time on Tuesday. It was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Soon after the crash, smaller explosions took place at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, Grade A Auto Parts.
“Thankfully, a local restaurant that is right there ... was missed and now is helping the search and rescue,” Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear said. “Another blessing is this plane could have potentially hit the major Ford factory or the convention center, those are all close by, and did not."
“We do not expect to find anyone else alive in the area,” Beshear added. “As Governor, I’ve seen a lot. I’ve had to order freezer trucks in a pandemic. I’ve walked the line of an F-4 tornado through my dad’s hometown. I’ve seen towns hit by flooding we only describe as biblical.”
(With AP inputs)
