UPS plane pilots named as mother of two among those feared dead
UPS and major cargo rival FedEx have moved to ground planes after one of their jets exploded into flames in Kentucky, killing 14 people.
United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx have temporarily grounded their fleets of MD-11 cargo jets after one of them crashed in a fiery explosion in Kentucky this week.
A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft exploded into flames when it crashed shortly after departing on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people. A three-person crew was aboard.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet,” UPS said in a statement on Saturday (AEDT).
“The grounding is effective immediately. We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer,” the courier added.
The company said it had contingency plans in place “to ensure we can continue to deliver reliable service.”
Around nine percent of UPS’s fleet are MD-11s, according to the company.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said another crash victim had been located, bringing the total number to 14.
Three pilots were among the dead, while a missing mother of two was also believed to be among the victims.
A child was also killed after the plane lost its engine, nosedived and crashed in a fiery blaze seconds after taking off from Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville on Tuesday.
“Capt. Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt, and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond were operating the flight,” UPS said in a statement following the crash, the New York Post reported.
“Words can’t express the sorrow we feel over the heartbreaking Flight 2976 accident. … This continues to be an incredibly sad time for our entire UPS family, and as our CEO, Carol Tomé reminded us: ‘United, we are strong.’”
Earlier, a local mother of two was also believed to have died when the plane went down in Louisville on Tuesday — with her boyfriend was spared because he was too tired and stayed home.
Angela “Angie” Anderson, 45, is one of nine people still missing after UPS Flight 2976 crashed just south of the city’s Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Anderson was at the nearby Grade A Auto Parts & Scrap Metal Recycling facility when the plane crashed and exploded, her boyfriend, Donald Henderson, 55, told local WDRB.
Henderson said the mother-of-two headed out to the facility to get rid of some scrap metal the couple had wanted to get off their hands.
“She wanted to take it, get rid of it, and I was like, ‘Go, go ahead. So she took off,” an emotional Henderson told the outlet.
Henderson said he was too tired after a long day’s work, so he let Anderson go by herself — only to come to regret the decision following the fatal crash.
“She’s all I got,” the heartbroken boyfriend said.
Kentucky Govenor Andy Beshear warned that the death toll could exceed 12.
Authorities were still looking for a “handful of other people” but “ do not expect to find anyone else alive,” he said.
The child who died was with a parent at the car parts business that was struck by the plane.
PLANE’S WORRYING HISTORY REVEALED
The UPS cargo plane was 34 years old and was very recently grounded for more than a month for critical repairs to its fuel tank, it’s been revealed.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane was stranded in San Antonio from September 3 to October 18 as it received a permanent repair to fix a crack in the fuel tank before getting back in the sky, according to Federal Aviation Administration maintenance records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The MD-11 has the second-worst safety record of any commercial aircraft still in service, according to safety data published by Boeing earlier this year.
Planes more than 30 years old are typically retired in the cargo business, according to the Journal.
In just the past three years, UPS rival FedEx has retired 20 MD-11s.
The average age of a UPS-owned cargo jet is around 22 years old, and its average MD-11 is 31.
UPS has nearly 300 aircraft in its fleet, 29 of which were MD-11s.
The plane was parked at a facility owned by ST Engineering, which told the Journal it provided airframe maintenance to the aircraft.
Following repairs, the jet flew to California and Baltimore before returning to Louisville, which is home to UPS’ aviation hub, flight records show.
The Honolulu-bound jet, which had three UPS employees on board, was carrying about 100,000kg of fuel when it crashed around 5.15pm Tuesday night, local time.
Officials have recovered the charred black box and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released photos of the device that was salvaged from the Louisville crash site.
The black box contains the plane’s cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder, key information that investigators need to figure out what caused the fatal crash.
The NTSB is investigating what caused the fire, which broke out on the plane’s wing and caused the engine to fall off — but officials said the probe will likely take more than a year before findings are released to the public.
“There are a lot of different parts of this aeroplane in a lot of different places,” he said, describing a debris field that stretched for half a mile.
LEFT ENGINE FELL OFF
It comes as the left engine of the UPS plane involved in the deadly crash near Louisville, Kentucky, was found to have detached during takeoff, surveillance footage has revealed.
The footage, which has not been released by the National Transportation Safety Board, is a “valuable asset” to investigators probing the crash, which killed at least 11 people, NTSB member Todd Inman said.
“We have viewed airport CCTV security coverage, which shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll,” Mr Inman said.
Separate footage has revealed the moment the cargo plane flipped and exploded in a ball of fire as it took off from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport — and the stunned reaction of a truck driver parked nearby who watched the blazing horror unfold.
The dashcam captured the reaction of the driver, who watched the plane explode, then leapt from the cab.
“Ohhh s–t!” he yelled. “Oh my f---ing god!”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed that the death toll had risen to 11.
Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear has warned the toll will almost certainly rise with 16 families reporting missing loved ones.
In addition to the deaths of the three crew members on board, the resulting explosion also enveloped the Kentucky Petroleum Recycling site and an autoparts business — both of which had an unknown number of customers as well as employees in the buildings.
“This is going to be a tough day for Kentucky after yesterday’s deadly plane crash,” Mr Beshear wrote on X.
“The number of those lost has now risen to at least nine, with the possibility of more.”
Kentucky, more heartbreaking news out of Louisville. The number of those lost has now risen to at least 9, with the possibility of more. Right now these families need prayers, love and support. Let’s wrap our arms around them during this unimaginable time.
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) November 5, 2025
Graphic vision of the incident shows the plane appeared to lift off the runway with one of its wings already on fire before flipping on its side and crashing to the ground at Muhammed Ali International Airport.
Dr Sammy Diasinos is an aircraft and aerospace engineering expert and Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Macquarie University.
The Sydney-based researcher specialises in aerodynamics, propulsion systems and flight performance and he also focuses on fluid mechanics across aviation.
“While it is difficult to determine what could be the cause from the video that exists thus far, the footage available does have similarities to that of the Concorde accident in Paris which was caused by debris on the runway rupturing a fuel tank,” Dr Diasinos said.
“But many things can contribute to a fire at this location of the aircraft. A ruptured fuel line, oil line or hydraulic fluid line could all cause a fire to start around the wing mounted engine of this aircraft.”
Dr Diasinos said an accident of this magnitude was likely caused by a “cascading event of failures which would sadly result in a devastating outcome.”
“For example, an engine fire could result in wires and hydraulic lines being damaged, this could prevent the retraction of flaps, slats and landing gear, or worse still, prevent control surfaces like ailerons from being effective,” he said.
“As these systems become unavailable, the difficulty in flying an aircraft increases drastically. “But during takeoff, there is very little time to react to the cause of the failures and prevent an accident from taking place.”
The Australian expert said there were safety mechanisms in place to prevent such incidents.
“Before the takeoff procedure takes place, control surfaces and engines will be checked to ensure that they are in full working order,” Dr Diasinos said.
“But once the takeoff procedure commences, pilots are dependent on calculations based on the aircraft weight, the runway being used and the weather conditions to determine at which speed they can still safely stop the aircraft on the runway, or they are committed to taking off. “This is referred to as V1 for these calculations and trying to abort a takeoff after surpassing V1 means that the aircraft will not stop safely before the end of the runway.
“Clearly in this accident V1 was surpassed prior to the pilots being aware of the problem. There would also be fire suppression systems that aid pilots of large airliners to fight fires that may start in the engines or the cargo hold.”
A statement from the mail company operating the flight, UPS, said it was “terribly saddened” and offered “heartfelt thoughts” to everyone involved.
“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,” the statement reads.
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Originally published as UPS plane pilots named as mother of two among those feared dead
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