Air safety investigators are set to arrive in Kentucky after a UPS cargo plane crashed and killed at least nine people.
Arriving on Wednesday, November 5, at least 28 National Transportation Safety Board agents will start searching for clues about the possible cause of the disaster that left destruction and smoke in Kentucky.
The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, had three crew members onboard and crashed at about 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the FAA. It was bound for Honolulu and crashed shortly after the takeoff.
With nine fatalities and 11 injuries, Andy Beshear, Kentucky's governor, noted that the death toll is expected to rise.
Four of those killed were not onboard the plane, said Brian O'Neill, the Louisville fire department chief.
Hundreds of firefighters were called out to deal with fires that erupted on the ground after the crash, although local leaders have asked the public to not move any debris and instead report it to help investigators piece together the reason for the deadly incident.
As investigators will try to find answers on how a routine flight ended up in such a disaster, officials have unveiled that there were no hazardous materials on the plane.
Mary Schiavo, a former Department of Transportation inspector general, shared with CNN, "[The parts] expel from that engine, and the centrifugal force from the engines, the blades spinning, and they can cut through the plane and cut fuel lines."
"That engine clearly came off of that plane before the final impact. The poor pilots could do nothing at that point."
Several of the flights were cancelled or delayed at the airport following the crash.
