LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Newly released 911 calls from the day UPS Flight 2976 crashed and killed 14 people shows how quickly panic spread across Louisville.
Some people witnessed the unthinkable on Nov. 4 and were sent into a panic, fearing what was next.
"A UPS plane was going to takeoff, and it did not go it went straight down and caught on fire, so many people -- you need to send everybody oh my god I'm freaking out," said one 911 caller.
Some people reported they were trapped near the crash site on Grade Lane and Knopp Avenue.
"My building exploded, I'm across the street but please help us get out of here," said another caller. "This whole place is gonna go up, and I don't want to be sitting here like a God dang, I mean there's buildings on fire, everything is on fire I want to get out of here," said someone else.
Fourteen people didn't get out when the plane fell from the sky right after takeoff outside the Muhammad Ali International Airport. Eleven of the lives lost were customers and workers at Grade A Auto Parts.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office identified all 14 victims of the deadly Nov. 4, 2025, UPS plane crash in Louisville.
"The sky is black, the plane just crashed, our people are at work. I am standing here looking at the black smoke from it landing on one of our buildings," says a call that came from Grade A, one of the businesses directly impacted by the crash.
The 911 calls came from all over Louisville with people reporting the thick black smoke in the air.
The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report said the plane's left engine caught fire and detached during takeoff. In that report the agency's investigation revealed the part that holds the engine on showed "fatigue cracks."
Several lawsuits against UPS, General Electric and Boeing are all pending and more than a month later cleanup continues and many businesses remain closed.
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