Lawsuit accuses UPS, General Electric and Boeing of negligence in fatal plane crash in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A lawsuit was filed Wednesday against UPS, General Electric and Boeing, claiming the companies' recklessness contributed to the plane crash Tuesday at Louisville's airport that killed at least 13 people.

Shakeara Ware, who lives near the crash site, joined Triple D, Inc., and Ensey LLC, in the class action complaint. Triple D is an auto repair shop on Knopp Avenue destroyed by the plane, and Ensey LLC, owns the building where Triple D, Inc., operates, according to Jefferson County property records.

"(Their) recklessness has upended the lives and livelihoods of Plaintiffs and numerous Kentuckians, who live with trauma, fear and uncertainty caused by Defendants' actions," the lawsuit says.

UPS Flight 2976 was fully loaded with fuel for a nine-hour flight to Honolulu from UPS Worldport when it went down around 5:15 p.m. Nov. 4. According to documents WDRB requested from the Federal Aviation Administration, the MD-11 jet built by McDonnell-Douglas in 1991 had major maintenance completed just months before this devastating crash.

As of this writing, 14 people have died as a result of the crash.

"As a direct and proximate result of each Defendant’s willful and wanton conduct, Plaintiffs and Class Members suffered significant injury, discomfort, inconvenience, loss of use and enjoyment of property, emotional distress, business interruption, revenue losses, lost wages and damages relating to the repair and remediation of their property," the lawsuit says.

In a news conference Thursday in Louisville, NTSB member Todd Inman said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder was quickly flown Wednesday to Washington, and the information was successfully extracted. A transcript with "pertinent information" will be released soon, but Inman said the NTSB doesn't release audio in these situations. The speed and altitude readings were collected at 5:13:32 Tuesday.

On Thursday, Inman said investigators walked runways 17L and 17R at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and found multiple pieces of engine fan blades as well as the main component of the left engine. Investigators have reviewed airport security video and said it showed the left engine detaching from the plane during the takeoff.

The lawsuit asks for an order certifying the class as well as unspecified damages. You can read the full lawsuit below.

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