9 people remain missing after UPS plane crashed at Louisville airport, killing at least 12: Officials

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Nine people remain missing after a UPS plane departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky on Tuesday crashed in a ball of flames, killing at least 12 people. Officials continue to search through half a mile of “charred, mangled” debris to find any additional victims, authorities said.

“It’s been a long 36 hours of tragedy,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a press conference on Thursday.

UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter plane was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, when the plane’s left engine detached after a “large plume of fire” erupted from the plane’s left wing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The aircraft’s three crew members are believed to be among the deceased, Greenberg said. The coroner is working on identifying the other nine victims who were found, Greenberg added.

Authorities will now begin to move the debris, including the “charred, mangled metal,” to see if they can locate additional individuals, Greenberg said.

The nine missing individuals are believed to have been near the scene at the time of the crash, Greenberg said.

“Our hope is that we have located all the victims at this point, but we don’t know,” Greenberg said.

Two individuals who were hospitalized still remain in critical condition, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Wednesday.

During a briefing on Wednesday, the NTSB said the plane’s black boxes have been recovered and they will be sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis.

A probable cause of the crash has not been revealed, the NTSB said.

“The plane lifted off and gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of runway 17R. Shortly after clearing that fence, it made impact with structures and the terrain off of the airport property,” according to NTSB board member Todd Inman.

The NTSB is scheduled to provide an update on the investigation on Thursday afternoon.

Video captured the moment the plane — loaded with thousands of gallons of fuel for a long-distance flight to Hawaii — crashed, resulting in a large fireball.

Two businesses on the ground were impacted by the crash, Beshear said.

The FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are now assisting in the investigation, Greenberg said.