Louisville mayor: 12 UPS plane crash dead have been identified, 9 still missing

Beth Musgrave, Lexington Herald-Leader on Nov 6, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Thursday officials have identified the 12 dead from a Tuesday UPS plane crash, but nine people are still missing.

“Our hope is that we have located all of the victims at this point, but again, we do not know. The search will continue,” Greenberg said Thursday. “I previously reported that there were 15 individuals that had been reported as missing. We have located six of those individuals over the last 24 hours, and so we’re now down to nine that are missing.“

Greenberg said the victims that have been found were located on top of the debris or easily visible. Search and rescue teams are now “delayering” the debris to try to find other possible victims.

Three of the victims were crew members of the UPS plane. Identities of the other victims have not been released.

The nine individuals that have been reported missing were believed to be in the area, he said during a Thursday press conference. Greenberg said the victims have been taken to the Jefferson County Coroner’s office for identification.

National Transportation Safety Board officials arrived Wednesday and are conducting a multipronged investigation into what happened with the UPS plane after it crashed around 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, killing at least 12 people, including three UPS crew members.

NTSB Board Member Todd Inman said Wednesday airport video showed the left engine of the MD-11 McDonnell Douglas aircraft detaching not long after take off.

“After being cleared for takeoff, a large plume of fire in the area of the left wing occurred during the takeoff roll,” Inman said. “The plane lifted off and gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of runway 17 R. Shortly after clearing that fence, it made impact with structures and the terrain off of the airport property. A post impact fire ensued,” he said.

The NTSB released photos Thursday on social media of the in-cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. Both will be analyzed to determine what went wrong, Inman said.

Officials said the debris field is more than a half mile long and impacted two businesses, Grade A Auto Parts and Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, located south of UPS Worldport. Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday a child who was visiting Grade A Auto Parts was likely among the dead.