UPS Cargo Jet Crashes on Takeoff in Louisville, Killing Three and Sparking Massive Blaze

Louisville: A UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter carrying three crew members crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday evening, claiming at least three lives and injuring 11 others.

The aircraft, bound for Honolulu, went down around 5:15 p.m. local time, erupting into a fireball on the runway. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear cautioned that the death toll may rise as emergency teams comb through the burning wreckage. “Please keep the pilots, crew, and all impacted in your prayers,” Beshear wrote on X, confirming first responders were actively engaged.

Eyewitness video showed flames erupting from the plane’s left wing as it briefly lifted off before slamming back onto the tarmac, triggering a massive explosion. Debris ripped through nearby structures, with one building’s roof partially torn away.

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Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg described the fire as “extremely intense” due to the aircraft’s heavy fuel load. “The plane was carrying approximately 280,000 gallons of jet fuel,” he told WLKY-TV, highlighting the severe risks posed by the inferno.

The crash occurred near UPS Worldport, the company’s global air hub and the world’s largest automated package sorting facility, which handles over 400,000 packages hourly and supports 300 daily flights. Thousands of employees were on-site at the time.

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Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 revealed the 34-year-old jet—originally built in 1991 and acquired by UPS in 2006—had completed a round-trip to Baltimore earlier that day. The Louisville-to-Honolulu leg typically spans eight and a half hours.

Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for neighborhoods north of the airport due to thick smoke and potential toxic fumes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have launched a full investigation to determine the cause of the disaster.

Boeing, which inherited the MD-11 program through its merger with McDonnell Douglas, declined to comment pending the probe, said reports.