At least 7 dead, 11 injured in UPS plane crash and explosion at Kentucky airport

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A UPS cargo level crashed and exploded successful a monolithic fireball Tuesday portion taking disconnected from the company's planetary aviation hub successful Louisville, Kentucky, sidesplitting astatine slightest 7 radical and injuring 11, authorities said.

The level crashed astir 5:15 p.m. arsenic it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport astatine Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Video showed flames connected the plane's near helping and a way of smoke. The level past lifted somewhat disconnected the crushed earlier crashing and exploding successful a immense fireball. Video besides revealed portions of a building's shredded extortion adjacent to the extremity of the runway.

Among the 11 who were hurt, immoderate had "very significant" injuries, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

"Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows however convulsive this clang is," helium said.

Beshear said helium didn't cognize the presumption of the 3 unit members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made successful 1991.

UPS's largest bundle handling installation is successful Louisville. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 regular flights and sorts much than 400,000 packages an hour.

"We each cognize idiosyncratic who works astatine UPS," Louisville Metro Council subordinate Betsy Ruhe said. "And they're each texting their friends, their family, trying to marque definite everyone is safe. Sadly, immoderate of those texts are astir apt going to spell unanswered. My bosom goes retired to those families and those friends."

UPS acknowledged the clang successful a little connection and said the National Transportation Safety Board would grip the investigation.

The airport, meanwhile, was unopen down and wasn't expected to resume operations until Wednesday morning.

"We don't cognize however agelong it's going to instrumentality to render that country safe," said Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey.

The politician said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to beryllium "hit beauteous directly," and a adjacent car parts cognition was besides affected.

A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows respective monolithic balls of flames exploding into the entity successful a row, followed by ample billowing clouds of achromatic smoke. Rodriguez told the AP she and her hubby conscionable happened to beryllium successful the country astatine the clip of the explosion.

Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metallic recycling concern down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the clang "just rocked the full place."

"This was massive. I mean, it virtually looked similar a warfare zone," helium said.

Destyn Mitchell said she was moving arsenic a big astatine an Outback restaurant, astir a 15-minute thrust from the crash, erstwhile she heard a large boom. About 20 radical were successful the restaurant.

"The temper successful the edifice was precise shaken up," Mitchell said. "Everyone is truly concerned. People who conscionable sat down to devour got up and near successful nether 30 minutes and packed up their nutrient due to the fact that they wanted to hurry up and get home."

Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said that based connected the videos it looked similar the craft was struggling to summation altitude arsenic a occurrence blazed connected its near broadside astir 1 of its engines. Given the ample magnitude of substance it was carrying, erstwhile the occurrence started successful that area, it would've been lone a substance of clip earlier determination was an detonation oregon the occurrence grew rapidly.

"Really the level itself is astir acting similar a weaponry due to the fact that of the magnitude of fuel," helium said.

The Louisville airdrome is lone a 10-minute thrust from the city's downtown, which sits connected the Ohio River bordering the Indiana authorities line. There are residential areas, a h2o parkland and museums successful the area.

A UPS connection reads, "Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. We are terribly saddened by the mishap contiguous successful Louisville. Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the information of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is peculiarly existent successful Louisville, location to our hose and thousands of UPSers. We are engaged with the National Transportation Safety Board's probe of the mishap and are staying successful adjacent interaction with the Federal Aviation Administration. We volition enactment tirelessly with authorities and section authorities connected effect efforts. As a effect of the accident, we are halting bundle sorting operations contiguous astatine Worldport. Family members seeking accusation should telephone 800-631-0604."

Golden reported from Seattle. AP reporters Ed White successful Detroit, John Raby successful Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and Adrian Sainz successful Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.