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A UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky at around 5:15 p.m. local time Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said. At least nine people were killed, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday. “Right now these families need prayers, love and support,” he said. “Let’s wrap our arms around them during this unimaginable time.” In a Wednesday news conference, Beshear said he was “fairly confident” that the death toll would rise by “at least one” and that he expects more details in the afternoon. He said six to seven people outside of the crew were injured, and the plane hit two of the “lesser populated” businesses in the area. Beshear also urged residents and businesses around the crash site to not drink water and declared a state of emergency for Kentucky. “It allows us to move resources more quickly through emergency management and the Kentucky National Guard,” Beshear said. “It allows state resources to be used also.” In an earlier news conference Tuesday, he also said 11 people were injured in the incident, some of them significantly. He said at the time that he expected those numbers to rise. UPS said in a statement that there were three crew members on the plane. Beshear said the status of the crew was unknown. He added that there was an emergency response area set up for families. The reason for the crash was not immediately known. The plane was a MD-11F, a type of freight transport aircraft made by manufacturer McDonnell Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997. The plane had about 38,000 gallons of fuel on board to travel all the way to Honolulu, officials said. The Louisville Metro Police Department implemented a shelter-in-place order near the crash site Tuesday. Several businesses close to the area were affected, officials said. There was no hazardous material on the plane that would cause an environmental issue, but the place where it crashed “could create those types of situations,” Beshear said. He said a petroleum recycling business and an auto parts business are in the area and called it an “all-hands on deck response.” A large plume of black smoke was visible near the airport, and footage from local TV showed fire and debris in a large radius around the crash site.
