What happened

UPS Airlines Flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F cargo aircraft bound for Honolulu, crashed seconds after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Airport video showed the left engine and much of its pylon separating as fire developed near the left wing. The aircraft struck industrial buildings and Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, where the impact and ensuing fire caused further blasts and damaged the used-oil and reclaimed-fuel facility. The three crew members and eleven people on the ground were killed, and 23 people on the ground were injured in the National Transportation Safety Board's current official accounting. Kentucky declared an emergency citing a massive explosion, fire and the release of approximately 38,000 gallons of fuel into the surrounding area. Later federal correspondence said responders recovered roughly 880,000 gallons of oil-water mixture; that recovery figure includes water and is not treated as the volume of petroleum released. The NTSB investigation remains open. Fatigue cracking has been identified in engine-mount components, but this record does not present a final probable cause before the Board issues one.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.