Louisville airport releases dramatic security footage of UPS plane crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Surveillance video released by the Louisville airport shows new angles of the crash of UPS Flight 2976 on Nov. 4.

Five videos were released by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority under an open records request from WDRB. The five security cameras in different parts of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport showed the crash of the MD-11 plane off Grade Lane.

The plane got only 30 feet into the air before it crashed and burst into flames as it hit several businesses killing 14 -- including the plane's crew of three -- and injuring 23 others.

Perhaps the most dramatic video of the ill-fated UPS plane can be seen from an airport gate.

At the very top of the frame, the bottom of the plane crosses overhead with its landing gear still down. In the fraction of a second it passed the camera, the glow from the engine fire is apparent on the ground below, as the plane lost altitude. The crash happens off-screen, but debris and smoke are clear evidence of what had happened.

The same video clip shows how quickly the smoke darkened the sky. Within minutes, an airport fire engine raced toward the scene, as police began blocking off the roadway.

Another of the videos showed the plane's takeoff, as it picked up speed on the runway before the engine broke off the plane then smoke and flames erupted.

Photos from the airport surveillance video were included in a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board of the Nov. 4 disaster. The NTSB said the airport security video showed how the engine popped off the UPS plane and caught fire before a massive plume of smoke could be seen rising from the crash site. The report pointed to evidence of cracks in the left wing’s engine mount.

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