The total count of victims resulting from the UPS cargo plane which ignited and crashed has now reached 13, per official reports.
City Leader's Remarks
“On my way to the Workers’ vigil, I received word of a thirteenth victim that lost their life as a consequence of the UPS flight 2976 accident,” wrote the municipal leader in a social media post. “My thoughts are with the loved ones, friends and co-workers of all who were lost in this recently occurred tragedy. We will get through this together.”
Victims Named
An announcement from the carrier named the flight crew aboard the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 as Captain Richard Wartenberg, Co-pilot Lee Truitt, and Relief Captain Dana Diamond.
“Our hearts reach out to all UPSer who has been affected and all in our Louisville community – assisting you and ensuring you obtain the support and resources you need is our priority,” the organization’s statement expressed.
Inquiry Findings
National investigators revealed that the jet’s port side wing caught fire and an power plant detached soon after liftoff from the airfield, resulting in the jet to fall and erupt into a blaze.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it is investigating the aircraft’s maintenance history, which was in Texas for maintenance weeks ahead of the incident.
Flight tracking data indicated the plane was on the tarmac in San Antonio, Texas from the start of last month to mid-October.
“We are cognizant that this plane was located in the facility,” said an official on Thursday, without a precise time frame. “We will examine every piece of service that was done, from the Texas visit, straight to the time of the journey.”
Findings of Key Items
The pilot’s recorder and data recorder were recovered, and the motor was located on the tarmac.
The recorders – known as black boxes – were designed to survive crash impacts and extreme fire from fires, and they seemed to be in one piece when discovered within the remains. Officials will analyzing recordings from the recorders.
The plane’s last recorded information showed an altitude of 475 ft and a velocity of that speed before the impact.
Maintenance History
Per FAA documents dated that date, a fracture on a structural piece in the tank area required repairs.
Singapore-based ST Engineering, which stated it supplies structural repairs for the company’s aircraft and manages a maintenance center in that city, declined to provide remarks, but expressed it would assist completely when investigators approached it.
Operations Continue
Meanwhile, the hub activities resumed Wednesday night with its Next Day Air or nighttime process, representative a representative said. The three landing strips at Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport were likewise reopened.
The distribution hub in this location is the company’s most significant. The hub engages more than 20,000 workers in the region, manages three hundred aircraft each day and organizes over four hundred thousand parcels per hour.
Public Response
A gathering was held on the night of that date by the regional Teamsters Union, which supports workers at the aviation hub, the organization’s biggest shipping facility.
Worker representatives, which supports UPS workers, began the gathering with a quiet tribute at the evening hour, the rough hour of the incident two days earlier.
“This event was so unexpected, so unforeseen,” the leader told the assembly of two hundred. “No one had a opportunity to bid farewell to any of those who we have mourned.”
