24 hours after fatal UPS plane crash: What we know and don’t know
Note: As of the evening of Thursday, Nov. 6, the death toll from the crash has risen to 13.
Twenty-four hours after a fatal cargo plane crash near the Muhammad Ali International Airport, the number of fatalities has grown to 12.
One of the dead is believed to be a child, Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference Wednesday night.
Beshear, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg toured the crash site late Wednesday with National Transportation Safety Board investigators. First responders described the scene as “hotter than hell and raining down oil,” McGarvey said.
“It is burned and mangled wreckage beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” he said. “The smells, the sights, these are things that are not going to escape us when we close our eyes tonight.”
At 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, here’s what we know, and don’t know, one day after the crash of UPS Flight 2976.
12 dead, 16 missing following crash
The death toll rose to 12 after officials continued searching the crash site on Wednesday.
“I can now confirm that there are 12 fatalities,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said during a live interview around 5:20 p.m. with WHAS-TV in Louisville.
Beshear said he believed the young child who died was with a parent in the area at the time of the crash.
There were 16 families that reported missing loved ones, Beshear said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
UofL Health received 15 injured patients from the plane crash, and two are still being treated in critical condition at a hospital, said Heather Fountaine, manager of media relations at UofL Health. The other 13 have been released from a hospital.
Details of the plane, crash
UPS Flight 2976 departed the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday with three crew members on board. It was originally scheduled to depart at 3 p.m.
The plane was bound for Honolulu when “an accident occurred,” according to a statement from UPS.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the NTSB said Wednesday.
National Transportation Safety Board Member Todd Inman said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon the plane had gained enough altitude to clear the end of runway 17 R, but shortly after clearing the fence, it crashed into buildings off the airport property.
CCTV footage showed the left engine detaching from the wing during takeoff, Inman said.
The in-flight recorder, known as a “black box,” has been retrieved and will be analyzed to help investigators determine the cause of the accident, Inman said.
The crash impacted two businesses near the airport: Kentucky Petroleum Recycling Plant and Grade A Auto Parts.
Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O’Neill said Tuesday night that some storage tanks in the area containing propane and oil ruptured following the crash, causing “some secondary explosions that were happening in the area.”
First responders from across the state assisted at the scene
The Okolona Fire Department was the first fire department to respond to the scene.
Chief Mark Little said his firefighters, from the small area of southern Louisville, had just completed emergency training at the airport about two weeks prior to the crash.
Little said there were dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and other vehicles at the scene Tuesday night, including assistance from other fire departments. As of Wednesday afternoon, the on-scene presence has shrunk to four fire trucks, two ambulances, about 30 to 40 firefighters and a search and rescue team.
First responders from across the state were on the scene Tuesday night.
By Wednesday evening, the fire was contained, with a few remaining hotspots, Beshear said. He thanked first responders for their work.
“These departments are sending everybody. They’re all working together. It’s an incredible credit to cooperation in tough times,” Beshear said.
Airport reopened on Wednesday morning
The Louisville airport canceled all flights on Tuesday night, but reopened Wednesday morning, though 16 flights on Wednesday were canceled.
The airport said runway 11/29 is open, but multiple taxiways still remain closed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In the wake of the crash, UPS closed Worldport, its main shipping and logistics center, and Ford Motor Co. halted production on Wednesday.
What we don’t know at 5:15 pm Wednesday
- Officials have not released the identities of the people who died in the crash or any injured or missing people. UPS has not confirmed if the three crew members on Flight 2976 are among those who died.
- Identities of those who died will be released by the coroner, Beshear said, who was on site. Additional testing may be needed to confirm the identities because of the state of the bodies.
- UPS has not said when it will resume operations at Worldport.
- The reason for the flight’s delayed departure has not been released.
- No photos of the crash site have been released.
Herald-Leader reporters Beth Musgrave, Christopher Leach, Piper Hansen, Austin R. Ramsey and Valarie Honeycutt-Spears contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM.