Death toll from UPS plane crash at Louisville airport rises to 13 | Kentucky
The death toll in the explosion that resulted in the UPS cargo plane losing its engine and bursting into flames rose to 13; Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed that UPS had released the names of the three victims on the plane.
Greenberg wrote in a message: “On my way to the Temsters vigil, I learned that the 13th person had died as a result of the UPS Flight 2976 crash. My thoughts go out to the families, friends and colleagues of everyone who lost their lives in this week’s tragedy. We will get through this together.” social media post.
In the statement made by UPS, it was stated that the pilots in the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 were Captain Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and International Assistance Officer Captain Dana Diamond.
“Our hearts go out to all UPSers impacted and everyone in our Louisville community; it is our priority to support you and ensure you get the care and resources you need,” the company said. expression To read.
“Our hope is that at this point we have located all the victims. But we still don’t know,” Greenberg said in a statement earlier in the day.
The left wing of a UPS cargo plane caught fire and an engine crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport, causing the plane to crash and explode into a fireball, a federal investigator announced early Wednesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the maintenance history of the plane, which was in Texas for repairs weeks before the crash.
Reuters reported flight tracking data showing the plane was on the ground in San Antonio, Texas, from September 3 to October 18.
“We are aware of this aircraft being located in San Antonio,” NTSB member Todd Inman said Thursday, without giving a specific time frame. “We will review every maintenance performed from the time of San Antonio until the date of flight.”
The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder were recovered and the engine was discovered at the airport.
The recorders, known as black boxes, were built to withstand impact impacts and intense heat from fires, and appeared intact when placed among crash debris. Investigators plan to examine the data in the black boxes.
Inman said the plane’s last data records showed an altitude of 475 ft and a speed of 210 mph before the crash.
Singapore-based ST Engineering, which said it provides airframe maintenance for UPS’s MD-11 aircraft and operates a repair facility in San Antonio, declined to comment but said it would fully cooperate when contacted by relevant authorities.
A crack in a structural part inside the center wing fuel tank needed to be repaired, according to Federal Aviation Administration records dated Sept. 18.
Meanwhile, UPS Worldport operations resumed Wednesday night with Next Day Air, or overnight sorting, operation, spokesman Jim Mayer said. All three runways at Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport have reopened.
The UPS package handling facility in Louisville is the company’s largest. The hub employs more than 20,000 people in the region, operates 300 flights a day and sorts more than 400,000 packages per hour.
A candlelight vigil was held on the evening of Nov. 6 by the local Teamsters Union, which represents workers at the Louisville airport, the company’s largest air cargo hub.
Teamsters Local 89, which represents UPS workers, began the vigil with a moment of silence at 5:14 p.m., the approximate time of the crash two days earlier.
“This incident was very sudden and unexpected,” the mayor told the crowd of 200 people. “No one had the chance to say goodbye to any of those we lost.”
Associated Press contributed reporting
