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Ford temporarily suspended operations at its Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP) in Kentucky on Tuesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed nearby, killing at least nine people and injuring nearly a dozen others. UPS Flight 2976, carrying three crew members, went down around 5:14 p.m. ET Tuesday shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, located near the automaker’s plant. "A partial crew will work this evening to prepare operations at Louisville Assembly Plant to resume full production," Jessica Enoch, director of manufacturing and labor communications at Ford, told FOX Business in an email. Ford has not received any reports of employee injuries, Enoch said. FORD RECALLS 1.4M VEHICLES OVER REARVIEW CAMERA ISSUE Immediately following the crash, LAP employees were instructed to shelter in place before ultimately being evacuated. Power to the facility was also shut off as a safety precaution, according to The Courier Journal. "Louisville Assembly Plant employees went home [Tuesday night] after the controlled power outage took effect across the local area," Enoch told FOX Business. TRUMP CALLS FORD F-150 A 'HOT TRUCK' IN ENTHUSIASTIC PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT OF TOP-SELLING AMERICAN VEHICLE Production remained paused at LAP through Wednesday’s day shift due to the controlled power outage, Enoch said. Located on Fern Valley Road, LAP produces the Ford Escape and has "played a major role in Ford’s production footprint for decades," according to Ford's website. In August, the company announced a $2 billion investment in LAP to assemble an electric pickup truck, and the vehicles will be available to consumers in 2027. FORD RECALLS NEARLY 625K VEHICLES FOR SEAT BELT, CAMERA DISPLAY ISSUES The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was en route to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu at the time of the crash, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials said. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE The aircraft was loaded with more than 200,000 pounds of fuel, resulting in a massive fireball explosion, according to Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
