Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Louisville asked to shelter in place following UPS plane crash

Smoke from a plane crash in Louisville on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.
Ryan Van Velzer
/
KPR
Smoke from a plane crash in Louisville on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

Updated: 6:30 p.m.

A UPS plane flying to Honolulu with three crewmembers on board crashed near the Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville on Tuesday evening, the company said.

"At this time, we have not confirmed any injuries/casualties," UPS said in a statement on its website after 6 p.m.

It said the plane is an MD-11, a large airliner used by shipping companies including UPS and FedEx. The plane would be fueled up for a long-haul flight to Hawaii.

Louisville Metro Police earlier reported injuries due to the crash, and said they along with other agencies including Louisville Fire, Metro Safe and emergency medical services were responding to the crash.

A massive plume of smoke was visible for miles as the sun went down Tuesday.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

According to UPS, WorldPort is the largest fully automated package handling facility in the world, stretching 5.2 million square feet. It serves more than 300 inbound and outbound flights daily, processing about two million packages per day.

The company says WorldPort employs 20,000 workers, who sort more than 400,000 packages per hour.

[DRONE PHOTO]

Louisville residents are advised to shelter in place in all areas north of the airport, all the way up to the Ohio River. In a post on social media, the airport confirmed an "aircraft incident" and said the airfield was closed.

This is a breaking news story.

Joe Sonka contributed reporting.

Copyright 2025 LPM News

Amina Elahi
Amina Elahi is the news managing editor at LPM. Since 2017, she's covered Louisville — its people, government and other institutions — first as a reporter and more recently as city editor. She was born in Karachi, raised near Chicago and is now rooted in Louisville. Earlier in her career, Elahi covered technology, innovation and business for the Chicago Tribune. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.Email Amina at aelahi@lpm.org. [Copyright 2025 LPM News]