Massive fireball erupts as UPS plane crashes at Kentucky airport, leaving 7 dead

LOUISVILLE Ky AP The airport in Louisville Kentucky began resuming operations early Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball while taking off from the company s global aviation hub there killing at least seven people and injuring government declared The plane crashed about p m Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Video exhibited 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 The death toll had risen to at least seven Tuesday night and four of those killed were not on the plane bureaucrats noted Death toll could rise Kentucky s governor says Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear reported he expects the death toll to increase Eleven people were also hurt specific of whom had very critical injuries he stated Anybody who has seen the images the video knows how violent this crash is he stated Beshear announced he didn t know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane a McDonnell Douglas MD- made in UPS s largest package handling facility is in Louisville and the company revealed Tuesday night that it had halted package sorting at the center and didn t say when it would resume The hub employs thousands of workers has daily flights and sorts more than packages an hour We all know somebody who works at UPS Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe mentioned And they re all texting their friends their family trying to make sure everyone is safe Sadly a few of those texts are maybe going to go unanswered Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg says the National Transportation Safety Board is handling the scrutiny and sending people He disclosed city exigency management leaders put together a form where nearby residents can document debris in their yards Airport is resuming operations after being shut down The airport meanwhile shut down for the night It began to resume operations Wednesday morning with flights that were canceled Tuesday scheduled to depart and arrive first Selected flights previously scheduled to take off from the airport on Wednesday morning were canceled Selected stranded passengers spent the night in the airport Specific roads near the airport remained closed Wednesday and a citizens school district in Louisville canceled classes and sessions for the day Pablo Rojas an aviation attorney mentioned that based on the videos it looked like the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines Given the large amount of fuel it was carrying once the fire started in that area it would ve been only a matter of time before there was an explosion or the fire grew rapidly Really the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel he stated The governor disclosed a business Kentucky Petroleum Recycling appeared to be hit pretty directly and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected People gather seeking information about missing loved ones Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy where people gathered looking for information about missing loved ones Tuesday night hoping to find out what had happened to his girlfriend She had been at a metal recycling business near the explosion and wasn t answering her phone he stated The Associated Press Her phone s live location noted she was still there Bobby Whelan Richardson s friend had been in front of her in line but had left minutes before the explosion He reported he was about a quarter mile down the road when he heard what sounded like a bomb exploding We don t even want to think about anything but the best Whelan declared All our friends were there A video taken by Leirim Rodr guez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke Tom Brooks Jr who runs a metal recycling business down the street announced the unbelievable magnitude of the crash just rocked the whole place This was massive I mean it literally looked like a war zone he reported Destyn Mitchell was working as a host at an Outback restaurant about a -minute drive from the crash when she heard a loud boom The mood in the restaurant was very shaken up she noted Everyone is really concerned People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under minutes and packed up their food because they wished to hurry up and get home The Louisville airport is only a -minute drive from the city s downtown which sits on the Ohio River bordering the Indiana state line There are residential areas a water park and museums in the area