Officials in Louisville, Kentucky, believe the total number of people killed after a UPS plane crashed in a ball of flames earlier this week will stand at 14.
In a statement posted on social media Saturday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the total number of victims found at the crash site — 13 — matches the number of people reported missing to Louisville police after the crash. Another person, who was taken to the hospital, also died.
“Together with the victim who passed yesterday in the hospital, we believe the total number of victims will be 14,” Greenberg said in the post.
In a video statement, he said: “We pray that there are no more victims.”
Earlier this week, authorities said they believed nine individuals who were believed to have been near the scene at the time of the crash were missing.
Crews worked for days searching for victims through a half-mile of charred debris. The body of one of the victims was located at the crash site on Friday — three days after the fiery crash.
Two of the victims were identified by a family friend as Louisnes Fedon and his 3-year-old granddaughter, Kimberly Asa.
Fedon, a father of four and grandfather of three, often visited a scrapyard near the airport to collect metal for income, the family friend said, who remembered him as “simply an angel on earth,” who helped raise a “whole village.”
The aircraft’s three crew members are also believed to be among the dead, according to officials.
UPS identified the pilots on board the flight as Capt. Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond.
“Words can’t express the sorrow we feel over the heartbreaking Flight 2976 accident,” Nando Cesarone, the UPS executive vice president for U.S. and UPS Airlines, said in a statement on Thursday. “Our hearts go out to every UPSer who has been impacted and all in our Louisville community — supporting you and ensuring you receive the care and resources you need is our priority.”
The coroner is working on identifying the other victims who were found.
UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter plane was departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, and headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, when the plane’s left engine detached after a “large plume of fire” erupted from the plane’s left wing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB said it located the “main component of the engine” on Thursday.
Authorities will now begin to move the debris, including the “charred, mangled metal,” to see if they can locate additional individuals, Greenberg said.
A probable cause of the crash has not been revealed, the NTSB said.
“The plane lifted off and gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of runway 17R. Shortly after clearing that fence, it made impact with structures and the terrain off of the airport property,” according to NTSB board member Todd Inman.
Preliminary flight data reveals the aircraft’s last reported altitude was 475 feet, the NTSB said on Thursday. The agency clarified on Friday that that equates to approximately 100 feet above ground level.
Prior to the crash, the aircraft was in San Antonio for six weeks, with the NTSB saying they will “look at every piece of maintenance that was done” during that time.
The plane did not require any maintenance the day of the crash, Inman said on Thursday.
The NTSB did not reveal when a preliminary report on the crash would be released.
Video captured the moment the plane — loaded with thousands of gallons of fuel for a long-distance flight to Hawaii — crashed, resulting in a large fireball.
Two businesses on the ground were impacted by the crash, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.
The FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are now assisting in the investigation, Greenberg said.
All three runways at the airport have since reopened and the airfield is fully operational, officials said Thursday.
“I sincerely appreciate the SDF Public Safety Department for their quick response as the first units to the scene as well as the actions of so many mutual aid agencies from the city and across the state during this time,” Louisville Regional Airport Authority Executive Director Dan Mann said in a statement.
