Cargo plane’s left wing caught fire before fatal Kentucky crash

A cargo plane’s left wing caught fire and its engine fell off just before it crashed and exploded after take-off in Kentucky, US authorities said.

The crash and fire on Tuesday destroyed the UPS plane and spread to nearby businesses in Louisville.

After being cleared for take-off, a large fire developed in the left wing, said Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.

The plane gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of the runway before crashing just outside Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Mr Inman told reporters.

Airport security video “shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the take-off roll”, he said.

The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder were recovered, and the engine was discovered on the airfield.

Mr Inman added that “there are a lot of different parts of this airplane in a lot of different places”, describing a debris field that stretched for half a mile.

Emergency services searched for more crash victims at UPS’s global aviation hub in Kentucky.

“Most of the things are gone, including some of the vehicles, the semis and the plane,” said Mark Little, chief of the Okolona Fire District in Louisville.

The crash had a ripple effect, striking and causing smaller explosions at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and hitting a vehicle salvage yard, Grade A Auto Parts, although it could have been worse, Governor Andy Beshear said.

“Thankfully, a local restaurant that is right there… was missed and now is helping the search and rescue,” Mr Beshear said. “Another blessing is this plane could have potentially hit the major Ford factory or the convention centre, those are all close by, and did not.”

Some people who heard the boom, saw the smoke and smelled burning fuel were still stunned a day later.

“I didn’t know if we were getting attacked. I didn’t know what was going on,” said Summer Dickerson, who works nearby.

The National Transportation Safety Board is at the scene with investigators. Mr Beshear again predicted the death toll would grow, noting that 16 families had gathered at a reunification centre for news of loved ones.

“I don’t know how many victims we’re actually looking for,” Mr Little said. “That’s one of the issues, and the debris zone is so large. Some of that debris is going to have to be moved and searched underneath. It will take us quite awhile.”

University of Louisville Hospital said two people were in a critical condition in the burns unit on Wednesday and that 13 others had been treated and discharged. Five people were treated at other hospitals.

Police blocked off a busy road about a quarter of a mile from the crash site on Wednesday. UPS workers could be seen entering and exiting the UPS Worldport building, and at least two company flights were seen taking off.

The airport is seven miles from downtown Louisville, close to the Indiana border, residential areas, a water park and museums. People in the immediate area were told not to drink tap water.

Mr Beshear said he did not know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991. It was not clear if they were being counted among the dead.

UPS said it was “terribly saddened”, The Louisville package handling facility is the company’s largest. The hub employs thousands of workers, handles 300 flights daily 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.”