At least seven people are de@d after a UPS plane crashed as it was taking off late Tuesday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, causing a large fire and hitting an area with two businesses, officials said.
UPS Flight 2976, with three crew members on board, crashed around 5:15 p.m. departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
At least seven people are de@d, Gov. Andy Beshear said on X Tuesday night, “with that number expected to rise.” He said earlier that at least 11 were injured.
Beshear called the event “a catastrophic crash.” The plane crashed adjacent to the airport, and a petroleum recycling business and an auto parts business are in the area that was hit, he said.
The auto parts business has accounted for all of its employees but two, “but they do not know how many other individuals, customers or others, could have been on site at the time,” Beshear said.
“Because of the nature of these facilities, it may be some time before we can account for everyone or know that no one else was on the grounds,” he said.
The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was headed to Honolulu, the FAA said. It crashed “when departing the West Runway,” according to the airport.
The crash happened 3 miles south of the airfield, said Officer Johnathan Biven, a spokesperson at the airport.
Video from the scene showed a large fire and huge plume of black smoke rising from the crash site. The plane had around 38,000 gallons of fuel on board, officials said.
WATCH: UPS plane (UPS2976) crashes after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Video validated by the Network pic.twitter.com/h9FtsLRumc
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