Experts discuss deadly UPS plane crash in Kentucky with Boston 25

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY — ,

Aviation experts say that since the plane had just started to lift for takeoff, it was at a point of no return, which means it was likely too late for the pilots to abort this flight when it exploded into flames.

“It’s just a sad day for the aviation community. I knew two of the three pilots personally,” said Tom Cappelletti, president of Jet Aviation Consultants.

Cappelletti knew two of the three pilots killed on board the UPS cargo plane on Tuesday.

The plane exploded into a fireball just after takeoff in Louisville around 5:15 PM.

“If you stay in this business long enough, you lose friends,” said Cappelletti. “I’m concerned, but the NTSB is the finest in the world, they’ll get to the bottom of this.”

While the investigation is only just beginning, aviation experts say there are some clues as to what may have caused this.

“So it appears mechanical failure of some sort of the aircraft, it couldn’t gain altitude for whatever reason, engine failure, it’s an MD-11 which has three engines, it’s a wide body aircraft,” said Tom Kinton, aviation expert and former head of Massport.

Experts say this plane can carry a lot of cargo and more than 38,000 gallons of fuel, as it was ready for a 10 to 12-hour flight to Hawaii.

The aircraft was leaving UPS’s hub on the south side of the airport when it blew up, leaving a massive line of fire and debris in its path.

The smoke could be seen for miles.

“It will travel a long distance at that speed because of a massive aircraft and the speed it’s going but how far it goes really depends on what it encounters in terms of what it hits,” said Kinton.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the three crewmembers and it’s gonna be a grim evening in Louisville at UPS at the Worldport,” said Cappelletti.

Aviation experts say the investigation can only really begin once the rescue response is over, and that emergency response is still underway Tuesday night.

As of late Tuesday night, the crash has claimed the lives of at least seven people.

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