'Repeating bell' sounded in cockpit for 25 seconds before UPS crash in Louisville, NTSB says

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Investigators said the "black box" inside the UPS plane that crashed Tuesday in Louisville recorded a "repeating bell" sound for the final 25 seconds of the flight.

Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said in a news conference Friday that the takeoff roll was uneventful for UPS Flight 2976 as the pilots went through their speed callouts. About 37 seconds after they called for takeoff thrust, Inman said the Cockpit Voice Recorder picked up the bell sound, which continued until the end of the recording, which he said they believe was the moment of impact with the ground south of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

"We believe right now that the end of the recording was the final point of impact," he said.

Inman said the pilots "engaged in effort to control the aircraft" during those final 25 seconds.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11, built in 1991, went down around 5:15 p.m. Nov. 4 after its left wing caught fire. The plane was fully loaded with fuel for the nine-hour flight to Honolulu from UPS Worldport.

At the time of this writing, 13 people have died in the crash. UPS released of the identifies of the three pilots on board: Capt. Richard Warternberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond.

Inman said the CRV shows the pilots attempted to control the aircraft in those 25 seconds before impact.

The full CRV audio won't be released by the NTSB, which is standard protocol. But Inman said a CVR group, made up of technical experts on the MD-11, will convene at NTSB headquarters and produce a written transcript of pertinent information. However, Inman said in may be "several months" before that's released.

How we got here

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said crews are working to identify the other 10 victims from the UPS cargo plane crash earlier this week while the search continues for nine others reported missing.

The bodies of the victims have been removed from the wreckage site by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office, and officials are working to positively identify each of the victims.

Flight records suggest the 34-year-old plane underwent maintenance while it was on the ground in San Antonio for more than a month, from September through mid-October, which Inman confirmed Thursday.

Three different reports were filed in early September. One shows the "center wing upper fuel tank" had a crack in it and needed a permanent repair. The other two reports reveal corrosion in the plane's center cargo area.

Inman said Thursday that, while the flight Tuesday was delayed two hours, there's currently no evidence that a maintenance issue played a role prior to takeoff.

"UPS has told us, at this time, that there was no maintenance work done on the aircraft in question immediately prior to the flight that would delay it in any way, shape or form," he said. "Obviously, it is our job to verify anything we learn through multiple sources, but (there's) nothing to this point to dispute that. So it's our belief that that there was not a maintenance issue regarding that aircraft prior to the flight subject."

On Friday, he said the work in San Antonio could be classified as a "heavy check," adding that they've dispatched additional people to retrieve extensive records from the repairs.

Thursday, Inman said the CRV showed the plane was going 210 miles per hour at 100 feet of altitude at the last reading retrieved from the crash debris.

He 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.

Inman said Friday that more than 100 first responders remain on the scene. The debris field is still active, he said, evidenced by the hot spot that briefly popped up Friday before firefighters put it out.

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