[Editor’s note: Updates to this post have ended. Further updates beginning Wednesday morning can be found here.]
A UPS MD-11 crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday at around 5:15 p.m., according to the FAA. Louisville Metro Police confirmed multiple agencies are responding to the scene near Fern Valley and Grade Lane, where a cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crashed. Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said Tuesday evening that at least seven people were confirmed to have been killed.
In a post on X, the department said injuries have been reported, and that Grade Lane will remain closed indefinitely between Stooges and Crittenden Drive. Residents within a five mile radius were originally told to shelter in place, police said, although the shelter in place area has since been adjusted.
Appears that the UPS plane crashed into a neighborhood by the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. Awful.
— Sam Mirejovsky (@whatsrightsam) November 4, 2025
pic.twitter.com/LbOqI1sDXm
There were three individuals onboard, according to a statement from UPS. The individuals’ statuses are not yet known.
Video showed thick black smoke rising near the airport’s tarmac shortly after the crash. Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for locations within five miles of the airport as crews worked to contain the area where the UPS MD-11 crashed. The airport, which serves as the global air hub for UPS, houses the company’s Worldport facility—spanning more than five million square feet and employing more than 12,000 workers who process about two million packages daily, according to UPS.
MD-11 Crash On Takeoff
Louisville, KY plane crash was an outbound UPS flight to Honolulu. Looks like the left wing/engine was on fire during the takeoff roll. pic.twitter.com/DimVcO0Qv5
— Anthony Cerullo (@anthonycerullo) November 4, 2025
Unconfirmed footage that appears to have been taken by an airport employee shows one engine on fire during the takeoff roll before the MD-11 crashed. Other images show what appear to be a detached engine near a runway on airport property.
FAA Statement
The FAA has released the following statement:
“UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 4, after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide all updates.”
We are following reports of a crash in Louisville possibly involving a UPS MD-11. Based on the timing and loss of data from the flight, we are working to confirm if the flight involved is #5X2976 operated by N259UP. Details are currently UNCONFIRMED. https://t.co/SWTMMxjTGs pic.twitter.com/84Rcobi1om
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 4, 2025
Government Responding
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X that he is asking for prayers for the families affected by the MD-11 crash. He also said he was currently en-route to Louisville.
Government officials have confirmed there were no known hazardous materials onboard the flight, although there are at least seven known fatalities and 11 injuries resulting in hospitalization as of Tuesday night. The status of the three crew members has still not been confirmed and are not included in those figures.
Louisville Emergency Management Director Jody Meiman said the shelter in place location is currently undergoing adjustments based largely on ongoing air monitoring to ensure the general public is not exposed to hazardous fumes produced by the MD-11 crash.
Louisville Chief of Police Paul Humphrey said the department is setting up a family reunification area for separated individuals. He also said the scene is expected to remain active and closed off for at least several days.
Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said during a press conference earlier on Tuesday evening that crews were still containing the fire, including dealing with the aircraft’s initial fuel spill, as well as several fuel storage facilities in the industrial area where the crash occurred. He later confirmed that the fire had been contained. O’Neill said the department is not currently aware of anyone who has been trapped in any structures as a result of the MD-11 crash.
Louisville Mayer Craig Greenberg said during a final press conference of the evening that more than 100 firefighters were on the scene of the MD-11 crash. Many were involved in search and rescue operations, the mayor said.
Airport officials said one runway has been reopened, although departing flights remained grounded for the time being.
UPS said it has halted its overnight operations at its Louisville Worldport facility following the MD-11 crash.
“We are engaged with the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the accident and are staying in close contact with the Federal Aviation Administration,” UPS said in a statement. “We will work tirelessly with state and local authorities on response efforts.”
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The MD-11F, originally produced by McDonnell Douglas and later by Boeing, is a three-engine, wide-body aircraft used primarily for freight operations. It can take off weighing as much as 633,000 pounds and carry more than 38,000 gallons of fuel, according to Boeing. Once popular as a passenger jet in the 1990s, many MD-11s were converted to freighters as fuel prices rose.
This particular aircraft, N259UP, was 34 years old and operating as UPS flight 2976. It was built in 1991 and first served Thai Airways before it was converted to a freighter for UPS in 2006. The aircraft was carrying 220,000 pounds of fuel, officials said in a press conference.
Boeing issued a statement Tuesday evening, following the crash.
“We are following the news out of Louisville regarding UPS Flight 2976,” Boeing said. “Our concern is for the safety and well-being of all those affected. We stand ready to support our customer and have offered technical assistance to the NTSB.”
This post was updated periodically as more details were known. It is now closed; further updates will be distributed in a new post.
Crew did everything they could but hopeless: likely a maintenance issue. Were the mechs using a fork lift for engine change again to save manhours… and it ran out of propane thus cracking the pylon assembly bracket ?
Probably not… at least I really hope not. The late Ron Schleede of the NTSB was a dear friend of mine for 34 years, and at one ISASI conference many years ago we had a very long chat about American 191 over dinner one evening, and I remember sitting there in horror shaking my head at the chain of events that led to 273 deaths. I hope that we learned from that.