Kentucky plane crash leaves at least seven dead - with number expected to rise

At least seven people have died after a cargo plane crashed near an airport in Kentucky.

The UPS aircraft went down near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday evening, with images from the scene showing large fires burning and smoke billowing into the air.

Speaking at a news conference, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear described the incident as "catastrophic" and urged local residents to obey any shelter-in-place orders.

In a later social media post, he confirmed the number of dead had risen from an initial three to at least seven, with the number expected to rise further.

Three people were confirmed to be on the plane, and 11 were injured on the ground.

Mr Beshear described it as a "tough" night for the city.

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said the crash happened around 5.15pm local time (10.15pm UK time) as the plane left the airport, bound for Honolulu in Hawaii.

It added that the aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane, primarily used by cargo airlines.

The airport is also home to UPS Worldport, the delivery firm's largest package handling facility in the world.

All arriving and departing flights were temporarily suspended, the airfield was closed, and passengers were told to closely monitor their flights.

The airport is not expected to reopen until Wednesday morning.

Authorities said the plane was carrying 38,000 gallons of fuel at the time of the crash, which impacted two buildings.

More than 100 firefighters were deployed to battle the blaze, said Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg.

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Sky's US correspondent David Blevins noted the incident occurred during the US government shutdown, meaning the budget for paying air traffic controllers has not been finalised.

The failure to reopen the federal government after 35 days has, he said, resulted "in a shortage of staff" and added: "There will be many questions asked in the coming days by the National Transportation Safety Authority about what exactly has gone wrong."

(c) Sky News 2025: Kentucky plane crash leaves at least seven dead - with number expected to rise