Timeline: Flight Data Depicts UPS Cargo Jet’s Final Minutes Before Fatal KY Crash
As of Wednesday morning, at least 12 people have died following the crash at Louisville’s airport. The UPS cargo plane crash, which occurred late Tuesday afternoon, killed at least 12 and injured several others.
The aircraft was a regularly scheduled flight operated by UPS three days a week to Honolulu, according to public aviation data. The wide-body, tri-engine McDonnell Douglas MD-11F arrived from Baltimore Tuesday morning and was set to depart Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport at 3 p.m., according to Flightradar24.com records.
However, the jet did not start moving down the runway until about 5:08 p.m., per real-time flight tracking software data. The cause of this two-hour delay remains unknown.
Videos show the plane rushing down the airport’s longest runway with its No. 1 left wing engine on fire.
Seconds after lift-off, climbing just 175 feet, the Boeing-built jet veered sharply toward an industrial park south of the airport, where it crashed into buildings and exploded, according to Flightradar24 data.
First responders quickly arrived to control the fire, which was intensified by the aircraft's load of 38,000 gallons of jet fuel.
This report was originally published on November 5, 2025, at 1:14 PM.
Summary: Flight data and eyewitness videos reveal the tragic final moments of a UPS cargo plane that caught fire during takeoff, crashed shortly after, and resulted in at least 12 fatalities and multiple injuries.