Shocking satellite images reveal the path of destruction left by the UPS cargo plane that crashed and burst into flames in Kentucky on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, including a child.
The before-and-after photos from Vantor, a satellite and data intelligence company, show a long, black trail of scorched debris and torched vehicles at an industrial area just south of Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville.
The images also showed a massive, 300-foot gash on the top of a UPS warehouse that was struck by the plane as it came down shortly after takeoff from the company’s aviation hub.
The crash sparked a massive inferno that consumed the enormous aircraft and spread to nearby businesses.
The jet was carrying about 50,000 gallons of fuel when it took off from the airport, with footage showing the plane’s left engine completely engulfed in flames as it sped down the runway for takeoff before it descended and crashed moments after its nose lifted from the ground.
The National Transit Safety Board is investigating what caused the fire, which broke out on the plane’s wing, and why the engine fell off. The probe is likely to take more than a year, officials said.
Airport security video “shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll” before it broke apart, said Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
“There are a lot of different parts of this airplane in a lot of different places,” he said, describing a debris field that stretched for half a mile.
Here is the latest on the UPS plane crash
- At least 7 dead, 11 injured after UPS plane crashes in fiery explosion at Louisville airport
- Unbelievable video shows UPS plane roll, explode in fireball feet from stunned trucker: ‘Oh s–t!’
- Shipping delays expected after UPS cargo plane crash in Louisville killed at least 9
- Shocking satellite images show trail of destruction after deadly UPS plane crash
- UPS plane that crashed and exploded was recently grounded for over a month for critical fuel tank repairs
Three people were on board the Honolulu-bound plane when it crashed around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday night.
Two nearby businesses — Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts — were also hit by the wreckage.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the child who died was with a parent at the car parts business.
The governor added that it was a “blessing” that the plane did not hit a nearby Ford Motor factory or the convention center.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed Wednesday night that the death toll had risen to 12.
Beshear ominously predicted the death toll would rise, saying authorities were looking for a “handful of other people” but “we do not expect to find anyone else alive.”
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