The tally of lives lost from the freight aircraft which burst into flames and crashed has reached 13, per latest reports.
City Leader's Announcement
Traveling to the Union’s candlelight gathering, I received word of a thirteenth victim that passed away as a outcome of the UPS flight 2976 crash,” stated the municipal leader in a public communication. “My thoughts is with the families, friends and colleagues of all who were taken in this recently occurred tragedy. We will overcome this together.”
Casualties Confirmed
A release from the company listed the officers on board the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 as Captain Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt, and International Relief Officer Dana Diamond.
“Our thoughts go out to every employee who has been touched and all in our Louisville region – assisting you and guaranteeing you get the attention and resources you need is our priority,” the company’s statement expressed.
Inquiry Findings
Federal officials announced that the freight aircraft’s wing caught fire and an power plant separated soon after departure from the aviation hub, resulting in the aircraft to fall and burst into a fireball.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it is investigating the jet’s upkeep logs, which was in the state for maintenance several weeks ahead of the incident.
Aircraft records indicated the jet was on the tarmac in San Antonio, Texas from the start of last month to mid-October.
“We are aware that this plane was located in San Antonio,” said an official on later, without a specific period. “We will examine every piece of service that was done, including the repair time, all the way to the date of the flight.”
Findings of Vital Components
The pilot’s recorder and flight data recorder were retrieved, and the engine was located on the runway.
The units – referred to as flight recorders – were constructed to endure accident forces and severe temperatures from infernos, and they looked to be in one piece when found among the crash debris. Officials will reviewing information from the recorders.
Aircraft’s final data recordings showed an altitude of 475 ft and a rate of that speed before the impact.
Repair History
Per Federal Aviation Administration records dated that date, a fracture on a structural piece in the center wing fuel tank needed repairs.
Singapore-based ST Engineering, which indicated it provides airframe maintenance for UPS’s jet and runs a maintenance center in that city, declined to comment, but stated it would work closely when officials contacted it.
Operations Continue
In the meantime, the hub operations resumed that evening with its Next Day Air or night sort process, spokesperson a representative stated. Each of the three runways at the aviation hub were also back in operation.
The distribution hub in this location is the company’s biggest. The facility employs in excess of twenty thousand workers in the area, manages three hundred aircraft each day and sorts over four hundred thousand items per hour.
Public Support
A gathering was held on the late afternoon of 6 November by the area worker’s group, which acts for employees at the Louisville airport, the company’s biggest air cargo hub.
Teamsters Local 89, which supports staff, began the gathering with a moment of silence at that time, the estimated moment of the accident before.
“This incident was so abrupt, so unexpected,” the mayor told the group of two hundred. “No one had a chance to bid farewell to any of those who we have lost.”
