Video released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday shows the aftermath of the deadly crash of a UPS cargo plane.
The Boeing MD-11 crashed shortly after takeoff from Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing the three crew on board and at least 10 other people on the ground. The video shows burned-out vehicles and buildings where the aircraft crashed.
The video also shows investigators mapping out the scene of the crash, including the use of drones that took aerial footage of the aftermath, showing the devastation on the ground.
“This was worse than the movies,” Democratic Mayor Craig Greenberg of Louisville told NBC News on Thursday. “Half a mile long, standing there where you could just see the destruction, the charred mangled metal, some cases at that point, there were still some smoke rising piles of debris.”
At least four of the 18 buildings owned by Sean Garber, who owned auto parts and scrap metal recycling businesses, were destroyed when the aircraft crashed while carrying 38,000 gallons of fuel.
“There was a huge ball of fire and massive multiple explosions occurring all around and obviously people running and screaming,” Garber said.
Video from my dads dash cam. Praying for everyone involved. Louisville, KY pic.twitter.com/GTb3BQMmoo
— Anela Hadžić (@NelaHadzic) November 6, 2025
The NTSB recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the aircraft and a search to locate the nine people still missing is continuing, NTSB member Todd Inman told NBC News.
Cockpit Voice Recorder (left) and Flight Data Recorder (right) recovered from the wreckage of UPS Flight 2976, a MD-11F cargo aircraft that crashed near Louisville, Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/eaNaNYskyO
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 6, 2025
“Our first and foremost priority is recovery of those who are still missing,” Inman said. “This investigation is not impeding that in any way.”
NTSB will hold a briefing Friday afternoon to provide an update on the investigation, the agency posted on X.
UPDATE TO MEDIA BRIEFING: During yesterday’s media briefing, the preliminary information reported was that FAA ADS-B data indicated a GPS altitude of 475 feet. When considering how FAA ADS-B altitude is reported, this equates to approximately 100 ft above ground level. Data from…
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 7, 2025
The MD-11 was built by McDonnell-Douglas before the company merged with Boeing, and can reach a top speed of 597 miles per hour and has a range of over 8,200 miles, according to FleugzeugInfo.net. Some 200 of the aircraft were built between 1990 and 2000.
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