Updated: 7:52 p.m.
At least three people have died and 11 people are injured after a UPS plane flying to Honolulu crashed near the Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville on Tuesday evening, officials said.
UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 4, after departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The FAA and NTSB will investigate.…
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) November 4, 2025
The plane is an MD-11, a large airliner used by shipping companies including UPS and FedEx, UPS said in a statement on its website. The plane would be fueled up for a long-haul flight to Hawaii.
Muhammad Ali International Airport is closing until 7 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Louisville Metro Police earlier reported injuries due to the crash, and said they along with other agencies including Louisville Fire, Metro Safe and emergency medical services were responding to the crash.
A massive plume of smoke was visible for miles as the sun went down Tuesday.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
According to UPS, WorldPort is the largest fully automated package handling facility in the world, stretching 5.2 million square feet. It serves more than 300 inbound and outbound flights daily, processing about two million packages per day.
Police nearby the UPS plane crash in Louisville shortly after dusk on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.
The company says WorldPort employs 20,000 workers, who sort more than 400,000 packages per hour.
Louisville residents are advised to shelter in place in all areas north of the airport, all the way up to the Ohio River. In a post on social media, the airport confirmed an “aircraft incident” and said the airfield was closed.
This is a breaking news story.
Joe Sonka contributed reporting.
