A large cargo plane has crashed on take-off in the US state of Kentucky, killing at least seven and triggering a huge fire on the ground.

The United Parcel Service plane, carrying three people, was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport when it crashed.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a social media post around 2.15pm (AEST) on Wednesday that the death toll had reached seven, “with that number expected to rise”.

“First responders are onsite and working hard to extinguish the fire and continue the investigation,” he said.

At least 11 people have been reported injured in the accident.

Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in a huge fireball.

Footage also revealed portions of a building’s shredded roof next to the end of the runway.

“Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is, and there are a lot of families that are going to be waiting and wondering for a period of time,” Beshear said.

He urged people to “pray for the families affected, Louisville and all of Kentucky. We are hurting right now after a heartbreaking day”.

The Governor’s comments were echoed in a social media post by US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who shared images from the accident.

Heartbreaking images coming out of Kentucky tonight.

Here’s an update from @FAANews
– UPS cargo flight 2976
– Crashed around 5:15 ET after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport en route to Honolulu
– The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

Please… pic.twitter.com/yE1Brhv8cQ

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 4, 2025

Earlier, Mayor Craig Greenberg told broadcaster WLKY-TV that fuel on the plane was an “extreme reason for concern in so many different ways”.

“There are multiple injuries and the fire is still burning. There are many road closures in the area – please avoid the scene,” Greenberg said in a social media post.

A shelter-in-place order was extended to all areas north of the airport to the Ohio River after the crash, which occurred at 5.15pm on Tuesday, local time.

At a news briefing more than five hours later, Fire Department Chief Brian O’Neill said hundreds of firefighters had nearly contained the blaze caused by the crash and would search the area “grid by grid” for any victims.

“When you have such a large scale incident and fire that spread over such a massive area, we have to use hundreds of personnel to surround it, contain it, and then slowly bring it in,” O’Neill said.

“These are trained firefighters from all around the region that are handling this to search, grid by grid, very carefully to make sure if we can find any other victims.”

The BBC reported that authorities were asking people looking for loved ones who might have been caught up in the crash not to go to hospitals. Instead, they were asked to visit a “reunification centre” set up by police.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will lead the investigation into the cause of the crash.

UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.

“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe.

“Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered. My heart goes out to those families and those friends.”

 

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The airport was shut down after the Tuesday afternoon crash and wasn’t expected to resume operations until Wednesday morning, US time.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to take to render that scene safe,” said Louisville Police Chief Paul Humphrey.

The governor said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly”, and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.

A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row, followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke.

Rodriguez told the AP she and her husband just happened to be in the area at the time of the explosion.

The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, which sits on the Ohio River bordering the Indiana state line. There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.

–with AP and Reuters