UPS Plane’s Engine Detached Right After Take Off and Just Before Fiery Crash That Killed 11: NTSB

The plane cleared a fence at the end of the runway before colliding with multiple structures, officials said

NEED TO KNOW

The NTSB said an engine detached from the left wing of a UPS plane that crashed in Louisville on Nov. 4

Three people were on board the plane when it went down, causing a half-mile-long fire, according to the agency

“It is a tough day for Louisville, for Kentucky,” said NTSB member Todd Inman

New details are emerging about the fiery UPS plane crash at Kentucky’s Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport that killed at least 11 people.

The MD-11-F plane was traveling from Louisville to Honolulu when it crashed at about 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 4, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Todd Inman said at a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

A preliminary investigation revealed three people were onboard the plane when “a large plume of fire” erupted from the area of the left wing during the “takeoff roll,” Inman said.

The plane then “lifted off and gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of runway 17-R” only to crash into multiple structures “off of the airport property,” he added.

Airport CCTV security footage showed the left engine “detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll,” according to Inman. The engine seen in photos from near the crash site is believed to be from the left side of the plane, he added.

LEANDRO LOZADA/AFP via Getty  Smoke rises from the site of a UPS cargo plane crash near the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 4, 2025.

LEANDRO LOZADA/AFP via Getty

Smoke rises from the site of a UPS cargo plane crash near the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 4, 2025.

The fire that resulted from the crash was nearly a half mile long, the board member said. The black box inside the plane survived the blaze, he added.

Though it “suffered some heat” from the fire, Inman said officials believed they will be able to get a “good read out” of information from the device. It will be “several days” until they can get into the black box, however.

The NTSB will remain at the crash site for at least a week while they look into what may have caused it, why it happened and how they can prevent it from happening again in the future, Inman said.

Anyone who may have come across debris from the aircraft that crashed is asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.

Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty An infographic titled

Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty

An infographic titled “Details of cargo plane crash in Kentucky” created in Ankara, Turkiye on November 5, 2025.

Eleven people died in the crash, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a separate briefing on Wednesday, but he noted that number is expected to increase by the end of the day.

At the NTSB press conference, Inman offered “sincere condolences” to those impacted by the fatal crash.

“It is a tough day for Louisville, for Kentucky,” said Inman, who noted that he hails from the state.

He added, “We know it is tearing at the community, and we are deeply sorry.”