U.S. investigators have recovered both flight recorders from a UPS cargo plane that crashed catastrophically in Louisville, Kentucky, as the death toll climbed and initial findings revealed a fiery takeoff failure at the company’s largest global air cargo hub.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed the discovery of both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. These critical devices will be analyzed to determine the cause of the tragedy.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that the number of fatalities from Tuesday’s accident has risen to at least 11, with 20 others injured.
Three of the deceased were on board the cargo plane. The remaining eight fatalities occurred on the ground.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the plane’s left wing ignited during takeoff acceleration from the runway. The left engine then detached from the fuselage.
The aircraft subsequently crashed, exploding into a massive fireball that spread across nearly half a mile. The accident site is UPS’s largest air cargo sorting facility globally.