Louisville, Kentucky– A UPS cargo plane was almost in the air when the bell rang in the cockpit. During the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the plane as it barely lifted off the runway. Its left wing caught fire and one of the engines was lost. Then plowed to the ground in a stunning fireballThe chief investigator said Friday.
Tuesday’s plane crash at UPS Worldport, Inc World Aviation Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Killing 14 people, including the three pilots On the MD-11 that was headed to Honolulu.
Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the cockpit voice recorder picked up the buzzer that sounded about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff. He added that there are different types of alarms with different meanings, and investigators have not determined why the bell was ringing, although they know that the left wing was burning and that the engine on that side had separated.
Inman said it will take months before a copy of the cockpit recording is released as part of that investigative process.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said the chime likely signaled an engine fire.
“It happened at some point in the takeoff where they were probably overspeeding their decision to abort the takeoff,” Guzzetti told The Associated Press after Inman’s news conference. “They likely exceeded the critical decision-making speed to remain on the runway and stop safely. … They will need to thoroughly investigate what options may or may not be available to the crew.”
Dramatic video The plane was captured crashing into businesses and erupting in a fireball. Phone, car and surveillance camera footage gave investigators clues to what happened from different angles.
The NTSB clarified Friday that preliminary data on the plane’s altitude indicated it rose only about 100 feet above ground level, not 475 feet. It reached speeds of 210 mph (340 kph) before it crashed just outside the airport, Inman said.
The main part of the left engine and parts of the fan blades were recovered from the airfield. Inman said UPS indicated no maintenance was being performed immediately before the flight. He noted that investigators will look at the video to see what, if anything, was done around the MD-11 plane in the previous days.
UPS parcel handling facility in Louisville It is the largest of the company. The center employs more than 20,000 people in the region, handles 300 flights a day and sorts more than 400,000 parcels per hour.
UPS Worldport Operations resumed Wednesday night with Operation Next Day Air, or the night type, spokesman Jim Meyer said.
Litigation over the incident has already begun. A federal lawsuit was filed Thursday against UPS by an auto repair shop destroyed in the crash and a resident was treated at a hospital after inhaling smoke.
The manufacturer of the plane and its engine are also named in the lawsuit, which alleges that the defendants “negligently breached their duty to provide reasonable care and prevent unreasonable harm.” He is demanding unspecified damages.
The companies named as defendants did not immediately return emails seeking comment Friday. ___
Mathis reported from Nashville. AP writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.