At least nine individuals have died from the catastrophic UPS plane crash Tuesday evening in Louisville. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says more deaths are likely. There is no information available yet on the three-person flight crew.
Beshear confirmed Wednesday afternoon that recovery operations are underway now that the fire is contained. He said some homes and businesses located near the crash site should not drink the tap water.
“We are doing water testing right now in and around the area, and everybody can rest assured that we're going to use all the best science for that and be able to tell them when everything is safe,” Beshear said. “It's hard to lose nine plus people and consider yourself lucky, and I don't think we're lucky, but it could have been much worse.”
Beshear is drawing on state resources to assist with the crash by declaring a State of Emergency. He also announced that the Team Kentucky relief fund, which has previously been used to address storm aftermath, will be available to assist those affected by the crash and accepting further donations. Funds will first pay for funerals, and then go toward funding response, recovery and rebuilding.
“Every dollar donated will go directly to those affected,” Beshear said. “We've gone and amended the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund to now allow families impacted by a disaster like this to also benefit from the generosity of Kentuckians.”
Okolona Fire Protection District Chief Mark Little said they don’t know how many people they’re still looking for, especially because of the large radius of the debris zone, which spreads from Fern Valley Road over to Melton Rd.
Little said they do not yet have a solid number of victims they’re searching in the debris zone. There are still families looking for their loved ones with 40 firefighters still on the scene.
“It's a search and rescue team that is represented by all the county departments, along with Louisville Fire,” Little said. “We have some hot spots that are out there that … we're going to let burn. They're so insignificant right now, but as they flare up, we will extinguish them.”
On Tuesday night, about 50 fire engines and 30 ambulances raced toward the UPS plane crash just south of the airport. Massive plumes of smoke spread over the city as the fire raged; Louisville Congressman Morgan McGarvey said one person said it looked like it was “raining oil.”
McGarvey confirmed that the government shutdown will not affect the work of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the inquiry into the crash. He said the full force of the organization is coming to bear on the investigation.
“They are going to analyze absolutely every bit of what happened. We're talking about everything that is man-made, that is machine-made, that is environmental,” McGarvey said, discouraging civilian guesswork. “The NTSB is going to go over with a fine tooth comb.”
Beshear confirmed that the plane directly hit two businesses, including Kentucky Petroleum Recycling. He said some of the oil tanks inside likely made the situation more dangerous, creating several smaller explosions as the plane burned.
“First responders did have to take cover because of what they were dealing with, but they were trained and ready and knew what was on site, really quickly, really impressive to watch,” Beshear said.
Beshear said it was fortunate that the plane did not hit a residential area or more populated businesses, like nearby the Ford Louisville Assembly Plant or the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is preparing to open the North American International Livestock Exposition on Thursday.
