LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A UPS cargo plane was nearly airborne when a bell sounded in the cockpit. For the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the aircraft as it barely lifted off the runway, its left wing ablaze and missing an engine, and then plowed into the ground in a spectacular fireball, the chief investigator said Friday.
The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport, the company’s global aviation hub in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 that was headed for Honolulu.
National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said the cockpit voice recorder captured the bell that sounded about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust. There are various alarms with different meanings, and investigators have not yet established why the bell rang, although they confirmed the left wing was burning and the engine on that side had detached.
Inman noted that it would take months before a transcript of the cockpit recording is made available to the public as part of the investigation process.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, indicated that the bell likely signaled the engine fire.
Investigation Details
Guzzetti speculated that the crash happened at a point in the takeoff where the crew was past the decision speed to abort, indicating that they had little choice but to continue. He stated investigators need to explore the options available to the crew during that critical moment.
Dramatic video captured the aircraft crashing into businesses and erupting in flames. Footage from various sources is providing investigators with multiple perspectives on the incident.
The initial data indicated that the aircraft achieved an altitude of only 100 feet at speeds of 210 mph before crashing beyond the airport's perimeter. Fragments from the left engine were recovered from the crash site, and investigators will examine if maintenance work was performed before the flight.
UPS Worldport, which serves as the company’s largest hub, resumed operations after the incident. The hub employs over 20,000 individuals and manages 300 flights daily, sorting more than 400,000 packages each hour.
Legal Action Commences
A federal lawsuit has been initiated against UPS by an automotive repair shop damaged in the crash and a local resident hospitalized after inhaling smoke from the fire. The lawsuit alleges negligence and seeks unspecified damages, naming various parties, including the plane and engine manufacturers.
The parties involved have yet to respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
Mattise reported from Nashville. AP writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.
