Left engine fell off plane during take-off before fatal Louisville crash
The debris field outside Louisville International Airport after a UPS plane crashed during takeoff.Credit: WLKY-TV
Inman said investigators are preparing to conduct a “FOD walk” (foreign object debris) on the runway to document and collect all relevant evidence.
He also said investigators were not aware of any staffing shortages at the airport due to the federal government shutdown.
The new information shared by the NTSB is reminiscent of the worst airliner disaster in U.S. history, when American Airlines Flight 191 crashed while taking off from Chicago in 1979, killing all 271 passengers and crew on board.
This aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the forerunner of the MD-11, and also involved the left engine separating from the wing during takeoff, leading to loss of control. Investigators found that the engine had separated due to improper maintenance, leading to failure of the pylon structure.
aviation magazine Leeham News, Again, Warned against drawing premature conclusionss point to unconfirmed reports that MD-11’s takeoff was delayed by two hours due to maintenance on No. 1 engine.
Broadcasting Quoting a retired Boeing employee whose duties included safety throughout his career, he suggested that a catastrophic uncontrolled engine failure might have disabled the hydraulics and ignited the fuel.
This flight, UPS2976, was en route from UPS’s worldwide headquarters in Louisville to Honolulu, Hawaii. It contributed to the massive fire by entering warehouses belonging to two businesses, an oil recycling facility and an automobile spare parts warehouse.
Nearly 200 firefighters, emergency personnel and 50 trucks were called out Tuesday to fight the blaze, which filled the evening sky with thick black smoke.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the number of confirmed deaths will likely increase by at least one, to 10. “We hope it won’t increase much further,” he said.
