Louisville | A UPS cargo plane's left wing caught fire and an engine fell off just before it crashed and exploded after takeoff in Kentucky, a federal official said on Wednesday, offering the first investigative details about a disaster that killed at least 11 people, including a child.
First responders, meanwhile, searched for more victims, a day after the crash at UPS Worldport, the company's global aviation hub in Louisville, though Governor Andy Beshear said finding survivors seemed unlikely. The inferno consumed the enormous aircraft and spread to nearby businesses.
After being cleared for takeoff, a large fire developed in the left wing, said Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.
The plane gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of the runway before crashing just outside the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Inman told reporters.
Airport security video “shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll", he said.
The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder were recovered, and the engine was discovered on the airfield, Inman said.
“There are a lot of different parts of this airplane in a lot of different places,” he said, describing a debris field that stretched for half a mile.
A chain reaction
The plane with three people aboard crashed about 5:15 pm (local time) Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at the Louisville airport.
The crash had a ripple effect, striking and causing smaller explosions at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and hitting an auto salvage yard, Grade A Auto Parts. Beshear said the child who died was with a parent at the parts business.
Beshear earlier said it was a “blessing” that the plane did not hit a nearby Ford Motor factory or the convention centre.
US Rep. Morgan McGarvey praised firefighters who rushed headfirst to the disaster scene, describing it as “hotter than hell and raining down oil.” Some people who heard the boom, saw the smoke and smelled burning fuel were still stunned a day later.
“I didn't know if we were getting attacked. I didn't know what was going on,” Summer Dickerson, who works nearby, said.
Number of victims unclear
Beshear predicted that the death toll would rise, saying authorities were looking for a “handful of other people” but “we do not expect to find anyone else alive".
Mark Little, chief of the Okolona Fire District in Louisville, said debris would have to be moved and searched, adding: “It will take us quite a while.” The University of Louisville Hospital said two persons were in critical condition in the burn unit. Eighteen persons were treated and discharged at that hospital or other health care centres.
The airport is 11 km from downtown Louisville, close to the Indiana state line, residential areas, a water park and museums. The airport resumed operations on Wednesday, with at least one runway open.
Beshear said he did not know the status of the three UPS crew members aboard the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991. It was not clear if they were being counted among the dead.
'We all know somebody who works at UPS'
UPS said it was “terribly saddened.” The Louisville package handling facility is the company's largest. The hub employs more than 20,000 people in the region, handles 300 flights daily and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said.
The governor said The Team Kentucky Emergency Relief Fund, typically used to help people in natural disasters, is accepting donations to help with funeral expenses and other hardships.
“In Kentucky, we grieve together and we support one another,” Beshear said.
Hoping for information about missing loved ones
Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy, where people gathered waiting for word of their missing loved ones on Tuesday night. He said his girlfriend, who had been at a metal recycling business near the explosion, wasn't answering her phone. Her phone's live location said she was still there.
Bobby Whelan, Richardson's friend, had been in front of her in line, but left minutes before the explosion.
“We don't even want to think about anything but the best. All our friends were there," Whelan said.
Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a recycling business, said the crash “just rocked the whole place".
Destyn Mitchell was working as a host at an Outback restaurant close to the airport when she heard a loud boom.
“People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under 30 minutes and packed up their food because they wanted to hurry up and get home,” she said.
