 "Smoke rises from the site of a UPS cargo plane crash near the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 4, 2025. AFP")
A cargo plane with three crew members aboard crashed soon after it took off late Tuesday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, officials have said. Kentucky Governor has announced that seven people died and 11 others were injured due to the accident.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that the UPS (United Parcel Service) Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 pm local time after taking off from the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
The UPS stated in a press release that no reports of casualties or injuries have been confirmed yet.
The cause of the crash was under investigation by the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told a press briefing that he expected the number of dead and injured was going to rise.
“First responders are onsite and working hard to extinguish the fire and continue the investigation,” he posted in a Tuesday night update on X.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe FAA revealed that the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was headed to Honolulu and crashed while “departing the West Runway.” A video shared by local broadcaster WLKY appears to show the aircraft’s left engine on fire as it attempted to lift off.
Officials at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport announced that all flights scheduled for departure on Tuesday evening had been cancelled, and UPS said it had halted package sorting operations at their facility.
The flight “went down three miles south of the airfield” after taking off from runway 17R, said Jonathan Bevin, an airport police spokesman.
Louisville serves as the main US air hub for UPS, according to a company fact sheet.
The package delivery giant travels to more than 200 countries via nearly 2,000 flights per day, with a fleet of 516 aircraft. UPS owns 294 of those planes and hires the rest through short-term leases or charters.
Aerial footage of the crash site showed a long trail of debris as firefighters blasted water on the flames, with smoke billowing from the disaster area.
With inputs from agencies