UPS cargo plane with 3 aboard explodes on takeoff at Louisville airport, igniting huge fire
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Officials say a large UPS cargo plane with three people aboard crashed and exploded while taking off from an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, igniting a huge fire on ground. The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that the plane crashed at about 5:15 p.m. The FAA said the plane was scheduled to fly to Honolulu after it took off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Photos on social media showed a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky. The Kentucky governor says there are injuries, but no fatalities have been confirmed.
A plume of smoke wafts over airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A large UPS cargo plane with three people aboard crashed and exploded Tuesday while taking off from an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, igniting a massive fire that left a thick plume of black smoke over the area.
A fireball erupts near airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
The plane crashed about 5:15 p.m. as it was departing for Honolulu from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in a huge fireball. Video also revealed portions of a building’s shredded roof next to the end of the runway.
“We know that there are injuries. We don’t know yet about fatalities, but we’re asking all Kentuckians to pray for those that have been impacted,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told The Associated Press.
Mayor Craig Greenberg told WLKY-TV there could be about 280,000 gallons (1,059 kiloliters) of fuel on the plane, an “extreme reason for concern in so many different ways.”
UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.
A shelter-in-place order was extended to all areas north of the airport to the Ohio River. The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, which sits on the river bordering the Indiana state line. There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 airplane owned by UPS was manufactured in 1991.
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