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National Transportation Safety Board officials released more information about what happened during the devastating UPS plane crash on Tuesday evening in Louisville, Kentucky.
NTSB member Todd Inman said the left engine detached from the plane “during the takeoff roll.”
Inman confirmed the plane’s black box was recovered on Wednesday afternoon. It will now be sent to Washington, D.C. for further analysis.
As of Wednesday evening, there are 12 confirmed deaths from the crash.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear stated the rescue mission is now shifting to recovery.
Okolona Fire Chief Mike Little stated debris from the plane,
including the landing gear, is scattered across a half mile.
The UPS plane was headed from Louisville to Honolulu, Hawaii, and is reported to have been carrying approximately 38,000 gallons of fuel at
the time of the crash.
Sarav Arunachalam, deputy director of the UNC Institute for
the Environment, told WRAL News that the amount of fuel can pose big risks to nearby
residents and responders.
“Fuel is the fuel for fire,” Arunachalam said. “If you think
about our car refills, we fill about them about 15-20 gallons per fill up
depending on your car. You’re looking at about 2,000-3,000 cars in terms of the
amount of fuel we had.”
He continued, “When you have this explode, what you have is immediate
combustion of the gasoline, which leads to multiple downstream products. You
have the gasoline mixing with the air, which produces nitrogen oxide – soot –
which is one of the main concerns we have.”
The UPS plane crashed just south of the airport. The area is
largely industrial.
Beshear confirmed the plane struck a petroleum recycling
center, causing oil from the business to spill into a nearby waterway.
Residents close to the crash site are advised not to drink
tap water for the time being.
“Given that the plane exploded, you have a lot of other
materials besides the gasoline itself in terms of the other parts of the plane
that are burning,” Arunachalam said. “You may have a lot of toxic metals and
toxic gases coming out from here.”
Watch news conference: NTSB to start investigation into UPS plane crash
River Metals Recycling, Kentucky’s largest scrap metal recycler,
has a center located near the crash site.
“Given that it’s scrap recycling, they have a lot of various
kinds of materials we don’t want like household electronics, vehicular,” Arunachalam
explained. “If any of that scrap metal area is burning, we have a bigger
problem.”
Little stated that the debris field is so large that fire and
rescue crews still haven’t been able to reach certain parts of it.
A shelter-in-place order originally extended for 5 miles
around the crash site has been reduced to half a mile s as of Wednesday morning.
The University of Louisville, which is about two miles from
the crash site, is hosting the ACC Field Hockey Championships this week. Duke and UNC’s game was postponed to 11 a.m. Thursday after the crash.
An ACC representative told WRAL News they are working with local meteorologists
and analyzing air quality index data to confirm conditions remain safe for
athletes to play.
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