WATCH: 9 dead, more injured as UPS jet becomes fireball during takeoff
There are being reported at least nine fatalities, with more people injured, after a UPS jet en route from Louisville, Kentucky, to Honolulu exploded and crashed on takeoff.
Initial reports suggest that a jet engine may have blown up and become detached from the jet, which was on video on its side and on fire as it crashed through a row of buildings.
It was Flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo jet.
Reports suggested it had some 280,000 pounds of fuel for the flight, and it exploded at the crash, spreading flames down a corridor a mile wide.
Heavy black smoke was seen for miles.
The jet reportedly had three crew members but other people on the ground were caught up in the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.
– UPS Airlines Flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo plane en route to Honolulu, crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport around 5:15 p.m. ET on November 4, 2025, near the UPS Worldport facility at Fern Valley Road and Grade… pic.twitter.com/dgeSbskZId
— The Informant (@theinformant_x) November 4, 2025
WATCH: Dash cam video shows UPS plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky pic.twitter.com/dZdpus1fxu
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) November 5, 2025
We will release more facts as they become available at https://t.co/8Y3csuvvgZ pic.twitter.com/qfbiACQ3vY
— UPS (@UPS) November 5, 2025
BREAKING: A UPS plane reportedly had 280,000 gallons, likely misstated and should be pounds, of fuel when it crashed near an airport in Kentucky, after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. There were 3 souls on board.
Reports indicate the UPS Flight… pic.twitter.com/G0GB7CbDld
— Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) November 4, 2025
The Daily Mail has reported the jet engine “could have detached,” according to an aviation expert.
Kentucky officials said 16 families had reported loved ones missing in the disaster.
Former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo said in an interview, “You can see there was a fire on the left wing. You could see that the engine had detached from the aircraft before the final impact and fireball.”
She explained it’s possible the engine “failed,” and that engine parts were spewed out, and that could have cut through the plane and fuel lines.
“It appears that fuel tank was ruptured and that would explain the fireball,” she said.
After the crash, what appeared to be the wreckage of a jet motor was on the runway.