A United Parcel Service cargo plane crashed near the Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky International Airport at about 5:15 P.M. Tuesday evening. Three crew members were reportedly on board at the time of the crash, but authorities aren’t yet saying how many people were injured or whether there were any fatalities, the Guardian reports. Currently, details on the crash are limited, but UPS said the plane was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 that was headed to Honolulu when it went down.
UPS has since released a statement confirming the crash, saying it “will release more facts as they become available, but the National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation and will be the primary source of information about the official investigation.” Meanwhile, over on Twitter, the Louisville Metro Police Department confirms injuries have been reported but not how many. “This is an active scene with fire and debris. Stay away,” the LMPD tweeted.
Governor Beshear responds
As you can see in the video above, the crash caused a large fire that created a massive plume of smoke. A shelter-in-place has also been issued for everyone within five miles of the airport, with the LMPD saying, “Please remain away from the area until further notice.” That shelter-in-place order was later extended to “[all] areas north of the airport to the Ohio River.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has also released a statement, saying, “Kentucky, we are aware of a reported plane crash near Louisville International Airport. First responders are onsite, and we will share more information as available. Please pray for the pilots, crew and everyone affected. We will share more soon.” Beshear then followed that up with a tweet saying, “The situation is serious. Please pray for the families affected. I’m headed to Louisville now.”
This is a breaking news story, and details are still scarce, but we’ll update as we learn more.
