🔗 Share this article

No fewer than nine individuals lost their lives and 11 left injured following a freight aircraft crashed while taking off from an international airport in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday evening.

Aircraft specialists suggest the aircraft went down after one engine failed and another appeared to be damaged during take-off.

The exact cause remains unknown why the aircraft failed, prompting a massive fireball to ignite after it couldn't become airborne from the runway. Video evidence showed fire had already engulfed one wing of the plane while it was attempting to take off, potentially spreading through the plane and caused the explosion, or the jet could have caught fire upon hitting an object on the ground.

What's clear is that the 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the MD-11 jet needed for the flight probably intensified the blaze, which rapidly extended to multiple structures past the airstrip and burned for hours.

How did it start?

The shipping giant operates from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as a logistics center for its worldwide network and its Flight 2976 was at the start of a 4,300 mile trip to Hawaii's capital when the freight aircraft initiated departure.

Data from FlightRadar24 indicates the plane began to taxi along the 17R runway at around 17:15 local time and managed to reach a top speed of 214mph.

But verified footage demonstrate that by the time the plane reached this speed a blaze had fully consumed its left wing and the plane couldn't climb before the massive explosion.

Authorities activated a shelter-in-place order to area inhabitants and dispatched hundreds of firefighters to the location.

Governor Andy Beshear confirmed particulars visible in security camera recordings that shows the plane traveling just feet above the surface before a bright flash engulfed the plane. It is then observed crashing onto the terrain as a massive fire explosion ignites surrounding it about a minute after departure.

Authenticated footage taken by motorists on a nearby highway showed the flames erupting into the skyline while subsequent recordings showed smoke billowing from the scene.

Aerial images broadcast by local media showed wreckage scattering across the airstrip and landing on the tops of at least two local businesses.

What could have caused the crash?

ATC transmissions examined are largely garbled and filled with static so no meaningful conversation can be heard about the crash as it unfolded.

However, experts suggested that a catastrophic malfunction of two of the engines may have been the cause of the disaster.

The MD-11 transport plane employs three powerplants. Two are installed under the wings, and a third is built into the tail at the base of the vertical stabilizer.

Video verified showed a fire consuming the port wing of the aircraft, which then tilted to the left as it tried to achieve altitude and take-off.

Two experts separately proposed the portside engine may have separated from the plane following a technical or physical breakdown.

Separate images captured post-accident showed a burned powerplant resting on the turf next to the runway.

An experienced former aviator and aircraft safety specialist said that it was "almost unheard of" for an powerplant to separate in flight.

The expert recalled the 1979 aviation disaster tragedy, in which 273 people were killed after the aircraft's powerplant separated as it departed from Chicago's major airport. Engine components had been compromised when it was replaced on the plane, but the expert stated it was premature to determine whether a comparable issue caused the engine to detach on the MD-11.

The expert explained the cargo plane would have been capable of flight with only two powerplants but the damage resulting from the fire on the left wing was likely so great it resulted in the plane's third engine to fail to produce power.

"Given the severe nature of the incident we cannot determine what other damage was caused when the powerplant separated," the expert commented.

A different aircraft specialist said the video evidence appeared to show the third engine had been damaged because it expelled a burst of smoke. The issue could have occurred while it was struck by wreckage from the blaze and the powerplant separation.

"The tail-mounted powerplant that expelled a puff of smoke appears to wind down right after," the specialist said. "That left only the right engine generating power, resulting in a significant thrust asymmetry and making the plane incapable to gain height.

"Losing two engines while departing leaves the aircraft with only a fraction of its thrust and little chance of maintaining flight, especially at full departure mass," the expert added.

Reasons for extensive destruction

Post-accident videos revealed a situation of total disorder with numerous blazes burning across a large swathe of the site and smoke rising upward.

The aircraft, which was three decades old and had been used as a passenger plane before conversion, had already completed one return journey from the Kentucky hub to Baltimore in Maryland on the same day.

Authorities haven't verified which goods was on board the flight bound for Hawaii, though authorities said the aircraft didn't contain anything that would pose an increased danger of contamination.

"This involved extended freight transport from Kentucky to Hawaii, so the trijet was carrying a significant fuel quantity," a specialist commented. "That heavy fuel load not only reduced performance but also explains the massive explosion seen after the crash."

Authorities informed media that the plane was carrying 144,000 litres of jet fuel for the extended trip when it went down. The blaze was likely amplified on the surface because the plane crashed into a fuel processing facility next to the airport.

A specialist indicated authorities will concentrate on how the initial fire began, and "if wreckage hit the centre engine, and whether earlier maintenance on the left engine played a role." The expert continued: "Atmospheric conditions were favorable, so weather-related causes are improbable."

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to the location and will now lead the investigation into the causes of the crash, though this can take up to two years to finalize.