(UPDATED 7:55 p.m. ET)
An MD-11 freighter aircraft operated by UPS crashed around 5:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday after departing from Louisville Mohammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed in a social media post.
UPS (NYSE: UPS) released a statement saying that three crew members were onboard. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said during a news conference that authorities believe there are three fatalities and 11 injuries, some of them significant. Injured people are being treated at local hospitals. The governor said the number of fatalities and injuries is expected to rise.
The Louisville airport said on X that the airfield is closed because of an incident and that all arriving and departing and arriving flights are temporarily suspended.
Louisville is the location of UPS Worldport, the express carrier’s global air hub. The aircraft was fully loaded with fuel when it struck the ground.
Social media posts show the tri-engine plane erupting in flames on impact with the ground. WLKY local news helicopter video shows the plane crashed into a group of warehouses and industrial buildings beyond the runway near Grade Lane, with flames and black smoke continuing to grow as fuel catches on fire. The destruction is widespread. Among the properties that were struck were Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade-A Auto Parts. A photo posted on Reddit shows a large warehouse with a major gash where the plane made impact. Grade-A Auto Parts has reported that two employees are missing and unaccounted for, Beshear said.
The local Ford assembly plant was not hit, but has lost power and has closed production.
The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department and multiple agencies have responded to the crash. People living and working north of the airport to the Ohio River are being asked to shelter in place because of the smoke inhalation hazard.
The widebody cargo jet was bound for Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, the FAA said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident.
(This is a developing story.)
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