Gov. Andy Beshear again predicted the death toll in Louisville would grow and said 16 families gathered at a reunification center “have reported loved ones unaccounted for.”
The plane crashed about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team of investigators.
“Thankfully, a local restaurant that is right there ... was missed and now is helping the search and rescue," Beshear said during a news conference Wednesday. "Another blessing is this plane could have potentially hit the major Ford factory or the convention center, those are all close by, and did not.”
There were “extra smaller explosions” at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, but it could have been worse, the governor said. Grade A Auto Parts was also hit.
University of Louisville Hospital said two people were in critical condition in the burn unit Wednesday and that 13 others had been treated and discharged. Norton Hospital said it had released three people.
Beshear said he didn't know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991. It wasn't clear if they were being counted among the dead.
What happened to the plane?
Based on videos of the crash, aviation attorney Pablo Rojas said the aircraft appeared to be struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines.
“Really, the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team of investigators.
Flight records show the plane was on the ground in San Antonio from Sept. 3 to Oct. 18. Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said it’s too early to know whether the problem was in the engine, the structure that holds the engine, or something else.
“This airplane apparently did undergo heavy maintenance within the past month, and investigators will need to comb through the maintenance records to see exactly what was done,” he said.
The airport resumed operations Wednesday morning, with at least one runway open. A public school district in Louisville canceled classes for the day.
