AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene of yesterday's UPS cargo plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky. Officials say at least 11 people died. And that number is expected to rise. The MD-11 crashed into an industrial area at high speed as it tried to take off from the Louisville airport on a flight to Honolulu. We're joined now by reporter Justin Hicks of Louisville Public Media. Hi, Justin.
JUSTIN HICKS, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: So what exactly happened yesterday in this crash?
HICKS: Yeah, so this aircraft - which was, again, a wide-body MD-11 cargo jet - it was roaring down the runway at the Louisville airport with 38,000 gallons of fuel just a little bit past 5:00 p.m. And then something happened to the left engine. Videos show fire and smoke, with the plane struggling to get airborne. And then the engine detached from the wing and ended up next to the runway.
And this particular jet had three engines, which should be more than enough power to counteract the loss of that one engine. Multi-plane engines are designed to be able to take off when one engine quits working, so we know that something very critical happened. The plane exploded over several businesses, including one that recycles petroleum. And so that caused additional explosions throughout the night as firefighters tried to battle the flames.
CHANG: Frightening. Well, what new information did investigators reveal today?
HICKS: Yeah, so the National Transportation Safety Board sent Todd Inman to Louisville. And he says investigators recovered both of these black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. And Inman said the plane did get airborne just briefly and cleared the perimeter fence before crashing into those buildings. He says the debris field now stretches for about half a mile.
TODD INMAN: Half a mile is a pretty large distance, but we have to be very cautious. The main thing we're also worried about are the safety of not only the investigators, but the first responders that are there.
HICKS: And so Inman says the NTSB will have 28 people here in Louisville. And it's going to be a complex and difficult investigation. They'll review the plane, the engines, maintenance records, pilots - everything you can think of. And when he was asked whether the government shutdown might have played a role, Inman did say that the Louisville air traffic control tower was properly staffed at the time of the crash.
CHANG: OK. Well, that was good to hear. Well, I understand that you were near the crash site today and spoke to some of the people who work around the area. What did you hear from them?
HICKS: So this morning, I went to the police barricade, spoke with people who had businesses. A lot of them were truckers who had rigs parked down that street. Again, this is kind of a cargo area. They all wanted to check on their property, but police have not let them through yet. One officer was telling people it may be a few days before they're allowed back there. And it was there that I met a fella named Sabit Aliyev. He says he opened a truck repair shop about a month ago, and he was there when the plane crashed. He said he had to wave down cops who were rushing to that fire to help cut open a fence and help him and his coworkers get out safely.
SABIT ALIYEV: It was, like, really loud, this explosion and flames all over. It was - heat was so bad, you can feel it from distance.
CHANG: Well, Justin, as you're talking to people in Louisville, what are they telling you about how they're feeling right now?
HICKS: Yeah, so everyone's just in shock right now. You know, sort of a joke about Louisville is that this is a city that's made up of neighborhoods, which is really just to say that this is a tight-knit community, a tight-knit city. And it's really fortunate this plane did not crash in an area full of houses. But of course, UPS is the largest employer in Louisville.
CHANG: Right.
HICKS: So everyone here is affected in some way. Just about everybody knows somebody who works there or has to drive near this crash site.
CHANG: OK.
HICKS: It's just really difficult right now, and you can see how tough this is on people.
CHANG: That is Justin Hicks of Louisville Public Media. Thank you.
HICKS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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