05/11/2025
A United Parcel Service cargo plane has crashed shortly after takeoff near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, sending a huge fireball into the sky and forcing the closure of the busy air hub.
The MD-11 aircraft, operating as Flight 2976, was bound for Honolulu with three crew members on board.
Authorities say the fully fuelled plane came down less than two kilometres from the end of the runway in an industrial area, igniting a large blaze that spread to a nearby recycling centre. Thick black smoke could be seen billowing across the skyline as emergency crews rushed to contain the inferno.