The number of victims resulting from the transport jet which burst into flames and went down has reached 13, according to official reports.
Official's Statement
Traveling to the Teamsters’ vigil, I learned of a additional fatality that died as a outcome of the UPS flight 2976 incident,” stated the city mayor in a social media post. “My prayers is with the relatives, friends and colleagues of all who were lost in this recently occurred tragedy. We will overcome this as one.”
Victims Identified
An announcement from the company named the officers aboard the aircraft as Captain Richard Wartenberg, Co-pilot Lee Truitt, and Relief Captain Dana Diamond.
“Our hearts are extended to every UPSer who has been impacted and all in our Louisville area – assisting you and making sure you get the care and aid you need is our main concern,” the company’s message read.
Investigation Details
Government authorities disclosed that the UPS cargo plane’s port side wing caught fire and an engine fell off just after liftoff from the Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport, causing the jet to crash and explode into a inferno.
The NTSB has said it is investigating the aircraft’s maintenance history, which was in Texas for maintenance weeks before the crash.
Aviation records showed the plane was on the runway in San Antonio, Texas from 3 September to mid-October.
“We are aware that this jet was located in that city,” said an investigator on later, without a specific time frame. “We will review each aspect of maintenance that was performed, including the repair visit, all the way to the date of the journey.”
Findings of Critical Evidence
The cockpit voice recorder and data recorder were found, and the power plant was discovered on the tarmac.
The units – known as black boxes – were built to survive accident forces and extreme fire from blazes, and they appeared to be undamaged when discovered amid the remains. Investigators plan on examining information from the recorders.
Aircraft’s last recorded information showed an height of that level and a speed of 210 miles per hour prior to the crash.
Maintenance Background
According to FAA files from 18 September, a fissure on a part within the center wing fuel tank needed maintenance.
The company ST Engineering, which indicated it offers aircraft servicing for UPS’s aircraft and runs a service location in that city, declined to speak, but stated it would work closely when relevant authorities approached it.
Activities Continue
At the same time, the hub operations continued that evening with its express also known as nighttime procedure, representative the company official said. The three runways at Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport were also back in operation.
The UPS package handling facility in this location is the organization’s biggest. The center hires in excess of twenty thousand workers in the region, manages numerous trips each day and processes in excess of four hundred thousand packages an hour.
Community Reaction
A memorial was held on the late afternoon of that date by the regional labor union, which acts for workers at the airfield, the firm’s biggest freight center.
Teamsters Local 89, which supports staff, started the gathering with a moment of silence at the evening hour, the estimated time of the crash previously.
“This event was so unexpected, so unforeseen,” the leader addressed the assembly of 200. “No one had a opportunity to say goodbye to any of those who we have lost.”
