Listen to dispatch audio moments after Tuesday’s deadly plane crash in Louisville
Dispatch audio from the scene of Tuesday’s deadly cargo plane crash in Louisville captures chaos and alarm as first responders come to realize the magnitude of the emergency and scramble to control a fiery scene.
The UPS MD-11 cargo plane that suffered a catastrophic engine separation at takeoff and slammed into an industrial park south of Muhammad Ali International Airport killed at least 14 people and injured many others, the single deadliest crash in the company’s history. Officials are still searching for several people missing from nearby businesses.
Radio communication between first responders reviewed by the Herald-Leader depicts the harrowing moments officials realize early reports of an explosion are in fact a plane crash and how the police, fire, medical and other emergency response units multiply in response to calls for backup from surrounding cities and counties.
Audio between Louisville air traffic controllers and the three-person flight crew on UPS Flight 2976, which the Herald-Leader also retrieved, is inaudible. Moments after the crash, airport personnel can be heard telling other UPS pilots to halt their takeoff procedures because “the airfield is closed.”
One of the first reports of an emergency at the airport comes less than a minute after flight radar indicates the Honolulu-bound cargo jet lost altitude at takeoff.
Static on a Louisville Fire Department dispatch channel suddenly gives way to an uneasy voice: “Be advised, there has been a large explosion off Fern Valley Road by the airport — lots of black smoke.”
Two minutes later, engine crews rushing to the scene come on the air to report callers believe they’ve witnessed a plane crash. Within three minutes, responding units are in agreement the disaster merits a mutual aid response that crosses jurisdictional boundaries.
At about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, seven minutes after the plane exploded into several nearby buildings, the tone of the voices on dispatch take a grim turn.
“Be advised, UPS employees are stating that they believe this is one of their airplanes that went down,” a voice warns.
From that point on, radio traffic is filled with police and fire officials from the city, county and surrounding areas dropping everything to come to the first responders’ aid. Calls for assistance appear to reach such a fever pitch that, at one point, a dispatcher uses the public airwaves to determine whether “multiple calls for service for smoke in the area” should still be answered individually or en masse.
“Get a total for now, radio,” one fire chief says solemnly.
On another MetroSafe Suburban Fire Department channel, an early responder describes coming across a building that reads “Kentucky Petroleum” and seeing more than one industrial building engulfed in flames.
Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts, both located south of the UPS Worldport facility on the airport grounds took a direct hit during the crash, Gov. Andy Beshear would later confirm.
The ensuing blaze near hazardous aerosolized chemicals led officials to cordon off increasingly expansive swaths of the larger metropolitan area, at one point culminating in a shelter-in-place order for areas across the Ohio River into southern Indiana.
Although a complete tally of first responders has not yet been released, early reports indicate more than 200 were on the scene of Tuesday’s crash. They came from two dozen police and fire departments in Jefferson County, surrounding counties and southern Indiana.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still piecing together what happened inside the cockpit of the heavy cargo jet in the seconds leading up to the downing. A “persistent bell” was heard on black box recordings 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, according to an NTSB official.
UPS identified the three crew members who died in the crash as Capt. Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond. Family members confirmed on social media that Matt Sweets was among the victims on the ground.
