LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — First responders searched for more victims Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball at the company’s global aviation hub in Kentucky, killing at least nine people and creating an inferno that consumed the enormous aircraft, authorities said.
“With the intense fire that was there, most of the things are gone," Mark Little, chief of the Okolona Fire District in Louisville, said of the fuselage.
The plane with three people aboard crashed about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke.
The crash had a ripple effect, striking and causing smaller explosions at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and hitting Grade A Auto Parts, though it could have been worse, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
“Thankfully, a local restaurant that is right there ... was missed and now is helping the search and rescue,” 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.”
Number of victims is unclear
The National Transportation Safety Board was at the scene with investigators. Beshear again predicted the death toll would grow, noting that 16 families had gathered at a reunification center for news of loved ones.
“I don't know how many victims we're actually looking for,” Little said. “That's one of the issues, and the debris zone is so large. Some of that debris is going to have to be moved and searched underneath. It will take us quite awhile.”
University of Louisville Hospital said two people were in critical condition in the burn unit Wednesday and that 13 others had been treated and discharged. Five people were treated at other hospitals.
Police blocked off a busy road about a quarter-mile from the crash site Wednesday. UPS workers could be seen entering and exiting the UPS Worldport building, and at least two company flights were seen taking off.
The airport is 7 miles (11.2 kilometers) from downtown Louisville, close to the Indiana state line, residential areas, a water park and museums. People in the immediate area were told not to drink tap water.
Beshear said he didn't know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991. It wasn't clear if they were being counted among the dead.
‘We all know somebody who works at UPS’
The Louisville package handling facility is the company's largest. The hub employs thousands of workers, 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. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.”
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 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 had left minutes before the explosion.
“We don’t even want to think about anything but the best,” Whelan said. “All our friends were there.”
Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the crash “just rocked the whole place.”
“It literally looked like a war zone,” he said.
Destyn Mitchell was working as a host at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash, 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.
What happened to the plane?
Based on videos of the crash, aviation attorney Pablo Rojas said the aircraft appeared to be struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines.
“Really, the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.
Flight records show the plane was on the ground in San Antonio from Sept. 3 to Oct. 18. Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said it’s too early to know whether the problem was in the engine, the structure that holds the engine, or something else.
“This airplane apparently did undergo heavy maintenance within the past month, and investigators will need to comb through the maintenance records to see exactly what was done,” he said.
The airport resumed operations Wednesday morning, with at least one runway open. A public school district in Louisville canceled classes for the day.
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Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press reporters Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jonathan Mattise and Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed.