Louisville residents and city leaders continue to deal with the aftermath of the UPS plane crash that killed at least nine people.
The plane was taking off from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday around 5:14 p.m. when it crashed just south of the runway, in an industrial area off Grade Lane. The crash site included a petroleum recycling facility. The plane was headed for Hawaii, carrying 220,000 pounds of jet fuel.
City officials issued an immediate shelter-in-place order for large swaths of the metro area. As of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, that shelter-in-place order had been reduced to a quarter mile radius around 7501 Grade Lane.
UPS said in a statement early Wednesday morning that its Second Day Air sort at the Worldport facility had been cancelled. Hub and Ramp employees on the Second Day Air sort should not report to work on Wednesday, the company said.
Family reunification, victim services
Louisville officials have asked that anyone who believes their loved one may have been injured in the crash not go to area hospitals searching for them.
Instead, the city has set up a family reunification site at the Louisville Metro Police Department Training Academy located at 2911 Taylor Boulevard. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said Wednesday morning that 16 families were still unable to locate loved ones who were believed to be near the crash site.
Louisville Metro is also providing services to victims and their families, including counseling and temporary housing. Families should call 1-800-631-0604 for more information.
Residents urged not to touch debris
Some residents have reported debris from the crash landing on their property, like Hawaiian-style dresses and paper advertisements.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are making their way to Louisville on Wednesday to investigate the cause of the crash and its impact. Federal and city officials are urging residents not to touch or move any debris.
The city has created a website to report debris and submit photos here.
Many flights delayed and cancelled
Anyone with a flight scheduled to leave out of Muhammad Ali International Airport on Wednesday should check their flight status online before heading to the airport.
The airports website showed multiple flights scheduled to depart before 10 a.m. on Wednesday have been delayed or cancelled entirely. A handful of flights that were supposed to depart Tuesday night, when the crash shut down airport services, have been rescheduled for Wednesday morning.
Road closures
As of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, the community-based traffic app Waze was reporting multiple road closures in and around the crash site.
The closures included:
- A small portion of Crittenden Drive south of the airport
- Portion of Grade Lane, Melton Ave. and Knopp Ave.
- The I-65 Southbound ramp onto Outer Loop
- And I-65 northbound ramp onto Fern Valley Road
