UPS plane crashes near airport in Louisville, Kentucky, officials say

Injuries have been reported after a UPS plane crashed near the Louisville International Airport on Tuesday, officials said.

The Louisville Metro Police Department described the scene as active with “fire and debris,” warning residents to stay away from Fern Valley and Grade Lane, an intersection located on the south side of the airport, which serves as the hub of UPS. 

A shelter-in-place initially issued for a 5-mile radius of the airport was extended for all areas north of the airport to the Ohio River, police said.

UPS said in a statement that it was notified of an incident involving one of its aircraft, but didn’t immediately provide more details.

UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time after it departed from the Louisville airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii.

According to preliminary flight data from FlightRadar24, the plane appeared to hit 175 feet in altitude briefly after takeoff. It would have been full of fuel for the flight to Hawaii, which likely led to the significant fire as seen from CBS affiliate WLKY’s chopper.

The crash is where UPS Worldport, an international air hub for the parcel service, is located. 

The 5.2 million-square-foot facility processes more than 400,000 packages an hour and is home to 20,000 UPS workers and 300 daily flights, according to the company. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.