Cleanup near Louisville's airport moves into 2nd phase 3 weeks after deadly plane crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There's no blueprint for reopening an area after a tragedy like this. But Louisville's Emergency Management Agency said recovery efforts following plane crash Nov. 4 that killed 14 people near the airport are moving forward — now entering phase two of the cleanup process.

The crash site and surrounding area remain closed to the public. A handful of business owners and operators are being escorted near Don Huston Boulevard as the focus of cleanup operations shifts north along Grade Lane.

Across the site, teams of contractors are picking up debris, collecting water and soil samples, and working with utility crews and specialized environmental firms to recover and remove everything possible from the area. Officials said the process is complex and time-consuming — but progress is being made.

"Unless you hear it come from us, don't believe anything you hear out there as far as the time period this is going to take," Emergency Management Agency Director Jody Meiman said Tuesday.

UPS Flight 2976 caught fire on the runway when its left engine flew off. It barely took off before crashing into the industrial area south of the airport's west runways, sending thick black smoke into the sky and triggering an all-hands response from airport firefighters, the Kentucky Air National Guard and the Louisville Fire Department.

Meiman said EMA's recovery plan is divided into three phases and crews are now fully engaged in the second.

"All of the agencies that are part of this are coming in with their goals and objectives for the next seven days," Meiman said. "This is changing on a weekly, sometimes daily basis — to the good — because so many contractors are ahead of schedule."

Despite the progress, the area remains a construction zone. One contractor hired to collect aircraft debris recently found a dense concentration of wreckage and brought in additional personnel to help speed up recovery.

For nearby businesses, reopening has been especially difficult. Some are working through insurance claims with the Small Business Administration and local resource centers to stay afloat.

"We're trying to work with everyone on a case-by-case basis to help out the best we can," Mayor Craig Greenberg said Tuesday.

As cleanup continues, questions remain about what the future holds for this part of the city and whether certain businesses should return at all.

City leaders said they're committed to rebuilding. But for now, there's still no timeline for when the area will be fully accessible again.

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