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Video credit: @smoothhsoosier

A dramatic scene unfolds in a dusk-time recording from Jeffersonville, Indiana — taken around 5:15 p.m. local time on November 4, 2025 — showing thick black plume rising over the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as a cargo plane crashes upon take-off. The footage aligns with official reports of UPS Airlines Flight 2976 (a 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD‑11 freighter) failing shortly after departure, erupting into a massive fireball and sending debris across an industrial area.

Authorities confirm that the aircraft had three crew members on board, all of whom are presumed dead, with at least 11 people injured on the ground following the blaze. The crash occurred just minutes after take-off from Louisville, in flight towards Honolulu, and triggered a shelter-in-place order for a five-mile radius around the airport, extended northward toward the Ohio River.

In its official statement, UPS said: “At approximately 5:20 PM ET tonight, UPS Flight 2976 from Louisville, KY to Honolulu, an MD-11 with three crewmembers onboard, was involved in an accident in Louisville.” The company added it is cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board investigation and that its Louisville hub operations have been halted for the night.

Investigators with the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are probing possible engine separation and why the triple-engine MD-11 failed to climb after take-off, data showing it reached only about 175 ft before descent.