Multiple people dead as US cargo plane crashes on take-off, triggering massive fireball

A cargo plane with three crew on board crashed on take-off from the main airport in Louisville, Kentucky, with video showing widespread fire consuming buildings near the airport and smoke billowing into the sky.

At least nine people have been killed in what Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said was a “catastrophic crash”. Beshear warned the toll was expected to rise to 10, while a government official told Reuters that at least 10 others remain unaccounted for.

Two people are in a critical condition in the burn unit, University of Louisville Hospital confirmed in a statement, while 16 people have been treated and discharged.

“This plane barely missed a restaurant bar. It was very close to a very large Ford plant with hundreds, if not a thousand-plus workers,” Beshear said.

“It was very close to our convention centre that’s having a big livestock show that people were arriving for.”

The flight, UPS2976, was a wide-body McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft bound for Honolulu, Hawaii. Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville is UPS’s worldwide hub.

The US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash occurred on take-off about 5.15pm on Tuesday (9.15am AEDT) and would be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Bureau.

UPS said three crew members were on board. “At this time, we have not confirmed any injuries/casualties,” it said. “UPS will release more facts as they become available.”

At a press conference, Beshear said the crash impacted at least two businesses in an industrial area on the ground – Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts.

He said that while there was no specifically hazardous cargo on board the aircraft to create additional danger on the ground, “the site and where it impacted could create those kinds of situations”.

There were dangerous items at the crash site that were possibly explosive, he said. “Do not go to the site.”

Local fire chief Brian O’Neill said crews were making progress on the blaze, but there were more than 250,000 pounds of jet fuel on the plane, plus more fuel that was stored at the crash site.

“We’re talking about a very, very dangerous situation,” he said. “You’ve got fuel recycling storage and some bulk fuel storage that’s right there. You also have the auto parts area. There’s a lot of issues that are going on with being able to surround and contain this fire.”

People were ordered to shelter-in-place within eight kilometres of the airport, local media reported.

The MD-11 has capacity to carry about 38,000 gallons of fuel, or about 144,000 litres, and it would have been carrying a full load for the long flight to Honolulu.

One video posted to social media, purporting to depict the crash, showed a plane attempting to take off with a visible ball of fire on its left wing before it crashed.

CNN reported that helicopter video from a local affiliate network showed flames in a car recycling yard and a trucking lot.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said it was responding to the crash along with multiple other agencies, and that injuries had been reported. The crash occurred near Fern Valley and Grade Lane, it said. Both roads border the southern end of the airfield.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he was praying for the victims and told motorists to avoid the area. “We have every emergency agency responding to the scene. There are multiple injuries and the fire is still burning,” Greenberg said.

The airfield was closed and all departing and arriving flights suspended, the airport said.

Louisville International Airport is home to UPS Worldport, which the company describes as a 5.2 million square foot facility where more than 12,000 employees process more than 2 million packages a day.

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