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  • Fleet of UPS planes grounded after deadly crash expected to miss peak delivery season

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    By SARAH RAZA

    A fleet of planes that UPS grounded after a deadly crash isn’t expected to be back in service during the peak holiday season due to inspections and possible repairs, the company said Wednesday in an internal memo.

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    The Associated Press

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  • UPS and FedEx grounding MD-11 planes following deadly Kentucky crash

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    UPS and FedEx said they are grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes “out of an abundance of caution” following a deadly crash at the UPS global aviation hub in Kentucky.The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 that was headed for Honolulu.MD-11 aircraft make up about 9% of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet, the companies said.“We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer,” a UPS statement said late Friday. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve.”FedEx said in an email that it will be grounding the aircraft while it conducts “a thorough safety review based on the recommendation of the manufacturer.”Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking the reasoning behind the recommendation.Western Global Airlines is the only other U.S. cargo airline that flies MD-11s, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The airline has 16 MD-11s in its fleet, but 12 of them have already been put in storage. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of business hours early Saturday.Boeing announced in 1998 that it would be phasing out its MD-11 jetliner production, with final deliveries due in 2000.The UPS cargo plane, built in 1991, was nearly airborne Tuesday when a bell sounded in the cockpit, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said earlier Friday. For the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the aircraft as it barely lifted off the runway, its left wing ablaze and missing an engine, and then plowed into the ground in a massive fireball.The cockpit voice recorder captured the bell, which sounded about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, Inman said. There are different types of alarms with varying meanings, he said, and investigators haven’t determined why the bell rang, though they know the left wing was burning and the engine on that side had detached.Inman said it would be months before a transcript of the cockpit recording is made public as part of that investigation process.Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said the bell likely was signaling the engine fire.“It occurred at a point in the takeoff where they were likely past their decision speed to abort the takeoff,” Guzzetti told The Associated Press after Inman’s news conference. “They were likely past their critical decision speed to remain on the runway and stop safely. … They’ll need to thoroughly investigate the options the crew may or may not have had.”Video captured the aircraft crashing into businesses and erupting in a fireball. Footage from phones, cars and security cameras has given investigators evidence of what happened from many different angles.Flight records suggest the UPS MD-11 that crashed underwent maintenance while it was on the ground in San Antonio for more than a month until mid-October. It is not clear what work was done.The UPS package handling facility in Louisville is the company’s largest. The hub employs more than 20,000 people in the region, handles 300 flights daily and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.UPS Worldport operations resumed Wednesday night with its Next Day Air, or night sort, operation, spokesperson Jim Mayer said.___Golden reported from Seattle.

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

    UPS and FedEx said they are grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes “out of an abundance of caution” following a deadly crash at the UPS global aviation hub in Kentucky.

    The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 that was headed for Honolulu.

    MD-11 aircraft make up about 9% of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet, the companies said.

    “We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer,” a UPS statement said late Friday. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve.”

    FedEx said in an email that it will be grounding the aircraft while it conducts “a thorough safety review based on the recommendation of the manufacturer.”

    Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking the reasoning behind the recommendation.

    Western Global Airlines is the only other U.S. cargo airline that flies MD-11s, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The airline has 16 MD-11s in its fleet, but 12 of them have already been put in storage. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of business hours early Saturday.

    Boeing announced in 1998 that it would be phasing out its MD-11 jetliner production, with final deliveries due in 2000.

    The UPS cargo plane, built in 1991, was nearly airborne Tuesday when a bell sounded in the cockpit, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said earlier Friday. For the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the aircraft as it barely lifted off the runway, its left wing ablaze and missing an engine, and then plowed into the ground in a massive fireball.

    The cockpit voice recorder captured the bell, which sounded about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, Inman said. There are different types of alarms with varying meanings, he said, and investigators haven’t determined why the bell rang, though they know the left wing was burning and the engine on that side had detached.

    Inman said it would be months before a transcript of the cockpit recording is made public as part of that investigation process.

    Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said the bell likely was signaling the engine fire.

    “It occurred at a point in the takeoff where they were likely past their decision speed to abort the takeoff,” Guzzetti told The Associated Press after Inman’s news conference. “They were likely past their critical decision speed to remain on the runway and stop safely. … They’ll need to thoroughly investigate the options the crew may or may not have had.”

    Video captured the aircraft crashing into businesses and erupting in a fireball. Footage from phones, cars and security cameras has given investigators evidence of what happened from many different angles.

    Flight records suggest the UPS MD-11 that crashed underwent maintenance while it was on the ground in San Antonio for more than a month until mid-October. It is not clear what work was done.

    The UPS package handling facility in Louisville is the company’s largest. The hub employs more than 20,000 people in the region, handles 300 flights daily and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.

    UPS Worldport operations resumed Wednesday night with its Next Day Air, or night sort, operation, spokesperson Jim Mayer said.

    ___

    Golden reported from Seattle.

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  • UPS identifies crew in Louisville cargo plane crash

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    SYSTEMS. REENA ROY, ABC NEWS, NEW YORK. AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE PILOTS IS CONFIRMED TO BE FROM ALBUQUERQUE. JULIAN PARAS JOINS US IN STUDIO NOW WITH WHAT HE’S LEARNED. THAT’S RIGHT GUYS. SO THE NAME OF THAT PILOT IS LEE TRUITT. ACCORDING TO OUR TARGET 7 TEAM, TRUITT STARTED WORKING AT UPS FOUR YEARS AGO IN 2021. HE ALSO EARNED A DEGREE AT UNM IN 2006, BUT HAD BECOME PART OF THE AVIATION INDUSTRY BEGINNING IN 1998. WE ALSO RECEIVED A STATEMENT FROM UPS OFFICIALS ABOUT THAT CRASH IN KENTUCKY. THE UPS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT SAYS WORDS CAN’T EXPRESS THE SORROW WE FEEL OVER THE HEARTBREAKING FLIGHT. 2976 ACCIDENT. IT’S WITH GREAT SORROW THAT WE SHARE THE NAMES OF THE UPS PILOTS ON BOARD UPS FLIGHT 2976 CAPTAIN RICHARD WARTENBERG, FIRST OFFICER LEE TRUITT, AN INTERNATIONAL RELIEF OFFICER, CAPTAIN DANA DIAMOND. WERE OPERATING THAT FLIGHT INVESTIGATION IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AND IS BEING LED BY THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD. WE ARE WORKING TO REACH OUT TO MORE PEOPLE WH

    UPS officials confirmed the identities of the crew aboard the cargo plane that crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, this week.The crew operating UPS Flight 2976 was identified as:Captain Richard WartenbergFirst Officer Lee Truitt Relief Officer Dana DiamondFAA records indicate Truitt was from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wartenberg was from Independence, Kentucky. UPS Flight 2976 crashed moments after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The flight’s destination was Honolulu, HI. At least 13 people, including all three pilots, are confirmed dead, with nine people unaccounted for.Social media video of the crash shows the MD-11 was already in flames as it reached the end of the runway and struggled to take off. Flight data shows the plane rose briefly before dropping into an industrial area just outside the airport property.Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board confirm the plane’s left-hand engine detached from the aircraft before the crash. Investigators also recovered the airplane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders, commonly known as the “black boxes.” Investigators say the recorders show signs of heat exposure, something they say the recorders are designed to withstand.Because of the long flight, the plane was fully fueled with about 38,000 gallons of fuel, leading to a large fire. The flames spread easily to nearby facilities, including a large recycling center. It took more than 100 first responders more than six hours to get the fires under control. UPS said the National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation and will be the primary source of information.

    UPS officials confirmed the identities of the crew aboard the cargo plane that crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, this week.

    The crew operating UPS Flight 2976 was identified as:

    FAA records indicate Truitt was from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wartenberg was from Independence, Kentucky.

    UPS Flight 2976 crashed moments after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The flight’s destination was Honolulu, HI.

    At least 13 people, including all three pilots, are confirmed dead, with nine people unaccounted for.

    Social media video of the crash shows the MD-11 was already in flames as it reached the end of the runway and struggled to take off. Flight data shows the plane rose briefly before dropping into an industrial area just outside the airport property.

    Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board confirm the plane’s left-hand engine detached from the aircraft before the crash. Investigators also recovered the airplane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders, commonly known as the “black boxes.” Investigators say the recorders show signs of heat exposure, something they say the recorders are designed to withstand.

    Because of the long flight, the plane was fully fueled with about 38,000 gallons of fuel, leading to a large fire. The flames spread easily to nearby facilities, including a large recycling center. It took more than 100 first responders more than six hours to get the fires under control.

    UPS said the National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation and will be the primary source of information.

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  • Man loses friends, home in Kentucky plane crash: ‘It still messes with me’

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    ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU MADISON. AND WHAT WE HAD FEARED THAT DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE. WE’RE TOLD OFFICIALS SAY THAT 12 PEOPLE ARE NOW CONFIRMED DEAD. NOW, ONE MAN WHO LIVED JUST STEPS FROM THE UPS CRASH SITE SAYS HE’S REALLY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE, EVEN AS HE MOURNS FRIENDS WHO DIDN’T MAKE IT, WHO DIED. WLKY’S DEANDRIA TURNER JOINS US LIVE WITH HIS STORY OF SURVIVING THIS HORRIFIC CRASH. ANDREA. HI, JENNIFER. WELL, ROBERT, HE LIVED AND WORKED AT GRADE A, WHICH IS ABOUT THREE BLOCKS THIS WAY. IT HAS BEEN BLOCKED OFF EVER SINCE THIS CRASH HAPPENED. AND WHEN I SPOKE TO ROBERT, HE TELLS ME THAT HE IS VERY SHAKEN UP, BUT HE IS ALSO VERY GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE TONIGHT. I STARTED HEARING THIS REAL LOUD, LIKE, RUMBLING, ROARING SOUND AND I STEPPED OUTSIDE THE BACK DOOR THERE AND LOOKED, AND THE ONLY THING I COULD SEE WAS BLACK SMOKE AND FLAMES. FIREBALLS. 12 YEARS ROBERT SANDERS WORKED AS A MAINTENANCE MAN AT GRADE A AUTO PARTS AND RECYCLING. HE ALSO LIVED IN HIS RV ON SITE. ON TUESDAY, THE PLACE HE CALLED HOME BECAME PART OF GROUND ZERO OF THE UPS PLANE CRASH. I HAD JUST BEEN IN MY RV LIKE TWO MINUTES EARLIER AND I CAME DOWN THERE TO BUILDING 12. MOMENTS LATER, THE UNTHINKABLE A PLANE FILLED WITH JET FUEL CAME CRASHING DOWN, RIPPING STRAIGHT THROUGH HIS RV. YOU THINK ABOUT THAT KIND OF THING A THOUSAND TIMES. YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? A PLANE CRASH, BUT YOU DON’T THINK IT EVER REALLY HAPPENED. BUT THEN IT HAPPENED. NOW ALL THAT HE HAS LEFT ARE THE CLOTHES ON HIS BACK AND HIS TRUCK. BUT WHAT HAUNTS HIM THE MOST ARE THE FACES OF THE THREE FRIENDS HE’LL NEVER SEE AGAIN. THAT THREE FRIENDS. CLOSE FRIENDS THAT ARE GONE. VISIBLY SHAKEN, HE SAYS THE MEMORIES STILL PLAY ON LOOP. THE SOUND OF THE EXPLOSION, THE SMELL OF THE SMOKE. REMINDERS OF HOW FAST LIFE CAN CHANGE JUST. IT’S TERRIFYING. I’VE NEVER BEEN THAT SCARED. YOU KNOW, IT’S STILL MESSING WITH ME. AND AGAIN TONIGHT. JENNIFER. HE KNEW THREE OUT OF THE 12 VICTIMS. AND HE SAYS THAT HE’S JUST VERY THANKFUL TO BE ALIVE. AND WHILE HE DOESN’T HAVE A JOB, AND WHILE HE DOESN’T HAVE A HOME RIGHT NOW, THE ONE THING THAT HE IS HOLDING ON TO IS HIS WILL TO SURVIVE.

    Man loses friends, home in Kentucky plane crash: ‘It still messes with me’

    Updated: 3:06 AM PST Nov 6, 2025

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    A man who lived just steps from the UPS plane crash site in Kentucky says he’s lucky to be alive, even as he mourns friends who didn’t make it.Robert Sanders has worked as a maintenance man at Grade A Auto Parts and Recycling for 12 years. He also lived in his RV on the property, which became part of the crash site on Tuesday morning.“I started hearing this real loud like rumbling, roaring sound, and I stepped outside the bay door there and looked, and the only thing I could see was black smoke, flames, and fireballs,” Sanders said. He told sister station WLKY he had just been inside his RV minutes before the plane came down.“I had just been in my RV like two minutes earlier, and I came down there to building 12,” he said.Moments later, a plane filled with jet fuel came crashing down, ripping straight through his RV.“You think about that thing a thousand times…what would happen if a plane crashes, but you don’t think it will ever really happen. But then it happened,” Sanders said.Now, all he has left are the clothes on his back and his truck. But what haunts him most are the faces of three close friends who didn’t survive.“I got three friends, close friends that are gone,” he said.Visibly shaken, Sanders said the memories still play on a loop, the sound of the explosion, the smell of smoke, the terror of the moment.“It was just terrifying. I’d never been that scared, you know? And it’s still messing with me,” he said.For now, Sanders says he’s holding on to the only thing the crash couldn’t destroy, his will to survive.He told WLKY he’s grateful to be alive, but he’s starting over from nothing. He doesn’t know where he’ll go next, but he says one thing is certain: he’ll never forget what happened here. If you would like to help him rebuild, click here.

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

    A man who lived just steps from the UPS plane crash site in Kentucky says he’s lucky to be alive, even as he mourns friends who didn’t make it.

    Robert Sanders has worked as a maintenance man at Grade A Auto Parts and Recycling for 12 years. He also lived in his RV on the property, which became part of the crash site on Tuesday morning.

    “I started hearing this real loud like rumbling, roaring sound, and I stepped outside the bay door there and looked, and the only thing I could see was black smoke, flames, and fireballs,” Sanders said.

    He told sister station WLKY he had just been inside his RV minutes before the plane came down.

    “I had just been in my RV like two minutes earlier, and I came down there to building 12,” he said.

    Moments later, a plane filled with jet fuel came crashing down, ripping straight through his RV.

    “You think about that thing a thousand times…what would happen if a plane crashes, but you don’t think it will ever really happen. But then it happened,” Sanders said.

    Now, all he has left are the clothes on his back and his truck. But what haunts him most are the faces of three close friends who didn’t survive.

    “I got three friends, close friends that are gone,” he said.

    Visibly shaken, Sanders said the memories still play on a loop, the sound of the explosion, the smell of smoke, the terror of the moment.

    “It was just terrifying. I’d never been that scared, you know? And it’s still messing with me,” he said.

    For now, Sanders says he’s holding on to the only thing the crash couldn’t destroy, his will to survive.

    He told WLKY he’s grateful to be alive, but he’s starting over from nothing. He doesn’t know where he’ll go next, but he says one thing is certain: he’ll never forget what happened here. If you would like to help him rebuild, click here.

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  • At least 7 dead, 11 injured in UPS plane crash and explosion at Kentucky airport

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    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball Tuesday while taking off from the company’s global aviation hub in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least seven people and injuring 11, authorities said.

    The plane crashed about 5:15 p.m. as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

    Video showed 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.

    Among the 11 who were hurt, some had “very significant” injuries, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

    “Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is,” he said.

    Beshear said he didn’t know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991.

    UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.

    “We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered. My heart goes out to those families and those friends.”

    UPS acknowledged the crash in a brief statement and said the National Transportation Safety Board would handle the investigation.

    The airport, meanwhile, was shut down and wasn’t expected to resume operations until Wednesday morning.

    “We don’t know how long it’s going to take to render that scene safe,” said Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey.

    The governor said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly,” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.

    A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row, followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke. Rodriguez told the AP she and her husband just happened to be in the area at the time of the explosion.

    Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the crash “just rocked the whole place.”

    “This was massive. I mean, it literally looked like a war zone,” he said.

    Destyn Mitchell said she was working as a host at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash, when she heard a loud boom. About 20 people were in the restaurant.

    “The mood in the restaurant was very shaken up,” Mitchell said. “Everyone is really concerned. People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under 30 minutes and packed up their food because they wanted to hurry up and get home.”

    Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said 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 said.

    The Louisville airport is only a 10-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.

    A UPS statement reads, “Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. We are terribly saddened by the accident tonight in Louisville. Our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is particularly true in Louisville, home to our airline and thousands of UPSers. 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. We will work tirelessly with state and local authorities on response efforts. As a result of the accident, we are halting package sorting operations tonight at Worldport. Family members seeking information should call 800-631-0604.”

    Golden reported from Seattle. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

    Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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