A tragic incident unfolded at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday when a UPS cargo plane exploded during takeoff, claiming the lives of three individuals and injuring eleven others. The devastating event took place around 5:15 p.m., as the MD-11 aircraft was set to embark on its journey to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.

The Federal Aviation Authority reported that the explosion occurred shortly after the plane left the ground, with eyewitnesses capturing shocking footage of flames engulfing the left wing. The dramatic scene, shared widely on social media, showed the aircraft’s doomed attempt to ascend before it was consumed by fire.

UPS officials confirmed that the three people aboard the flight were crew members, although it remains uncertain if they were among the fatalities. The plane, heavily fueled for its long voyage to Hawaii, triggered a massive fire. This blaze not only affected the aircraft but also threatened nearby facilities, reportedly trapping at least 25 individuals inside a building.

The incident has left the community in shock as authorities work to provide assistance to those affected and investigate the cause of this catastrophic event. The priority now is understanding what led to such a tragic outcome in hopes of preventing future occurrences.

It was also fully fueled at the time, due to the lengthy trip to Hawaii – sparking a massive fire that spread to nearby facilities and reportedly left at least 25 people trapped inside a building. 

Meanwhile, locals reported hearing a loud explosion, with Louisville Metro Police spokesman Matt Sanders telling WDRB the department received 20 calls for service.

Louisville Metro Police have since announced on social media that several agencies are responding to the scene south of the airport, while residents shared photos of smoke filling the sky.

It remains an active scene with ‘smoke and debris’, police said as they issued a shelter-in-place order for a five-mile radius around the airport, which was later expanded northward to cover most of the city.

‘Please remain away from the area until further notice,’ the police department urged. 

Video shared to social media showed a ball of fire emanating from the center of the plane just moments after it departed the runway on Tuesday

The explosion caused a fire to spread out for nearly a mile in Louisville

The crash involved a UPS MD-11 plane with three crew members onboard

The airport is now also closed and those with scheduled flights on Wednesday are urged to check their flight status as travel chaos continues nationwide.  

Mayor Craig Greenberg said he and his wife, Rachel, are praying for the victims.

‘We have every emergency agency responding to the scene,’ he said on social media. ‘There are multiple injuries and the fire is still burning. 

‘There are many road closures in the area – please avoid the scene.’ 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also said he has been notified about the tragic incident and is en route to Louisville.

‘Please pray for the pilots, crew and everyone affected,’ he urged on social media, later declaring that ‘the situation is serious.’

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy echoed those sentiments, asking the public to ‘please join me in prayer for the Louisville community and flight crew impacted by this horrific crash.’

He added that the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA ‘are mobilizing to get on the ground and will lead the investigation’.

The explosion came just hours after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Democrats are making air travel unsafe by forcing air traffic controllers to go without pay through the longest government shutdown in US history.

She urged just five Democrats in the Senate to join Republicans in voting for a ‘clean continuing resolution’ to extend funding for the government and make sure that Americans who control plane movements at US airports are paid going into the busiest travel season of the year.

This week, federal workers with control centers are set to miss their second paycheck since the start of the shutdown. 

But travelers at three major US airports were already facing hours-long delays on Tuesday as staffing shortages worsen on the 35th day of the shutdown. 

Authorities have issued a shelter-in-place order around the international airport 

Multiple people were injured when a plane crashed near a Kentucky airport on Tuesday, sending a massive plume of smoke across the city

Authorities said it remains an active scene with ‘smoke and debris’

According to multiple flight alerts, the Houston and Phoenix air traffic centers implemented Ground Delay Programs, effectively slowing the rate of arrivals to prevent overload in the control system.

The FAA said the delays are primarily due to ‘staffing’ shortages, with some flights facing up to nearly three-hour waits before takeoff or landing clearance. 

At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the FAA set the arrival rate at just 40 flights per hour, compared to typical peak rates closer to 70. 

The advisory lists average delays of 40 minutes and maximums topping one hour and 40 minutes, stretching across all major departure zones in the US. 

At nearby William P Hobby Airport (HOU), the situation is even worse, with the FAA limiting arrivals to only 16 flights per hour and maximum delays nearing three hours.

The restrictions apply to flights departing from every major regional control center in the contiguous US, meaning ripple effects could extend far beyond Texas. 

In Phoenix, controllers at Sky Harbor International Airport are also slowing incoming flights. 

The FAA set a rate of 40 arrivals per hour, citing the same staffing shortage. Average delays are hovering around 45 minutes, with some flights waiting over an hour and a half to land.

The programs are in place through the early hours of Wednesday morning, potentially affecting hundreds of flights nationwide. 

 This is a breaking news story and will be updated.