The National Transportation Safety Board began its first full day of on-site investigation Thursday into Tuesday’s crash of a UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter in Louisville, Kentucky. NTSB Member Todd Inman, who is leading the agency’s response, said more than 30 investigators are now at the scene alongside local and federal partners. Inman expressed condolences to victims’ families and survivors, emphasizing that recovery efforts remain the top priority while investigative work continues.
Earlier Thursday morning, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed that there are now 12 fatalities following the crash, with nine additional people still missing.
Preliminary Data and Recorder Findings
Inman said the NTSB has obtained preliminary ADS-B flight data showing the aircraft’s last recorded altitude at 475 feet and speed at 183 knots at 5:13 p.m. local time, seconds before impact. The information will be combined with data from the flight recorders to build a detailed timeline of events leading up to the crash.
Early analysis so far indicates that the aircraft was briefly airborne before it collided with structures beyond the airport perimeter, consistent with initial reports that the left engine detached during takeoff.
Cockpit Voice Recorder (left) and Flight Data Recorder (right) recovered from the wreckage of UPS Flight 2976, a MD-11F cargo aircraft that crashed near Louisville, Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/eaNaNYskyO
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 6, 2025
Chihoon Shin, the NTSB’s investigator in charge, told reporters that both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were successfully downloaded at the agency’s Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C. The flight data recorder contained about 63 hours of information over 24 flights, while the cockpit voice recorder captured two hours of audio including the accident flight. Inman said the recordings will be transcribed in the coming days, adding that the audio itself will not be released.
Engine and Maintenance Review
Investigators recovered several pieces of engine debris, including fan blades and the main component of the number one engine, during a foreign object debris walk on runway 17R. The materials have been secured for further analysis.
Inman said maintenance records are being reviewed from a six-week period from September to mid-October, when the aircraft was parked in San Antonio. The NTSB is also reviewing additional CCTV footage from the airport. Based on current information from UPS, he said, no recent maintenance issues were reported before the flight.
Inman said the investigation remains in its early stages and that the agency is coordinating closely with the FAA, Boeing, UPS, and labor representatives under the NTSB’s party process. Additional specialists in vehicle performance and materials engineering have joined the effort as the team begins mapping the debris field and reconstructing components.
“We will do everything we need to find out what happened and to figure out how to keep it from happening again,” Inman said.
Further updates are expected as additional findings become available.