Massive fireball erupts as UPS plane crashes at Kentucky airport, leaving 7 dead
Louisville (AP): First responders prepared to resume looking for victims Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball while taking off from the company's global aviation hub at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least seven people and injuring 11, authorities said.
The plane crashed about 5:15 pm Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Over 200 responders were on the scene Tuesday night, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said.
“We'll continue to put every resource we have available to this, as well,” he told WLKY-TV on Wednesday morning.
Video showed flames on the plane's left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in a huge fireball. The video also revealed portions of a building's shredded roof next to the end of the runway.
The death toll had risen to at least seven on Tuesday night, and four of those killed were not on the plane, officials said.
Death toll could rise, Kentucky's governor says
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he expects the death toll to increase. Eleven people were also hurt, some of whom had “very significant” injuries, he said.
“Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is,” he said.
Beshear said he didn't know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991.
UPS's largest package handling facility is in Louisville, and the company announced Tuesday night that it had halted package sorting at the centre and didn't say when it would resume. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights 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.”
Greenberg said the National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation and sending 28 people. He said city emergency management officials put together a form where nearby residents can report debris in their yards.
A shelter-in-place order that initially covered at least a 1-mile (1.6-kilometre) radius in the area was shrunk to just a quarter-mile (0.4-kilometre) radius early Wednesday as officials monitored the air quality, Greenberg said.
The airport is resuming operations after being shut down
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The airport, meanwhile, shut down for the night. It began to resume operations on Wednesday morning, with flights that were cancelled on Tuesday scheduled to depart and arrive first. Some flights previously scheduled to take off from the airport on Wednesday morning were cancelled.
Some stranded passengers spent the night in the airport.
Some roads near the airport remained closed on Wednesday, and a public school district in Louisville cancelled classes and activities for the day.
Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said that based on the videos, it looked like the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines. Given the large amount of fuel it was carrying, once the fire started in that area, it would've been only a matter of time before there was an explosion or the fire grew rapidly.
“Really, the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.
The governor said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly,” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.
People gather seeking information about missing loved ones
Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy where people gathered looking for information about missing loved ones on Tuesday night, hoping to find out what had happened to his girlfriend. She had been at a metal recycling business near the explosion and wasn't answering her phone, he told The Associated Press. Her phone's live location said she was still there.
Bobby Whelan, Richardson's friend, had been in front of her in line, but had left minutes before the explosion. He said he was about a quarter mile down the road when he heard what sounded like a bomb exploding.
“We don't even want to think about anything but the best,” Whelan said. “All our friends were there.”
A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row, followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke.
Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the crash “just rocked the whole place.”
“This was massive. I mean, it literally looked like a war zone," he said.
Destyn Mitchell was working as a host at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash, when she heard a loud boom.
“The mood in the restaurant was very shaken up,” she said. “Everyone is really concerned. People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under 30 minutes and packed up their food because they wanted to hurry up and get home.”
The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city's downtown, which sits on the Ohio River bordering the Indiana state line. There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
