Editor’s note: Follow USA TODAY’s live coverage of the UPS plane crash in Louisville, KY, for Wednesday, Nov. 5.
LOUISVILLE, KY – The crews are small. They fly fewer flights. Cargo planes operate essentially off most people’s radar.
But for workers on board and people on the ground, they still present a potentially deadly hazard when things go wrong – just as with any major airliner.
Federal statistics show cargo crashes remain rare but attract widespread attention when they happen. The deadly crash in Louisville, Kentucky, of a UPS plane on Nov. 4 is the latest example. At least seven people died and several more were injured, authorities said. UPS said three crew members were on board.
Flight 2976’s crash came while departing from the Muhammad Ali International Airport. The facility is the site of UPS Worldport, the company’s primary air hub and the world’s largest automated package sorting facility, sorting millions of packages daily.
The flight is one of nearly 2,000 UPS operates daily, according to a company fact sheet from 2024. UPS’ fleet includes around 300 company jets and around 200 chartered aircraft, the company sheet says. Around 350 company flights head in and out of the Louisville hub daily, according to UPS.
Tuesday’s crash marks the deadliest plane crash for UPS Airlines since its founding in 1988. Prior to the crash in Louisville, UPS Airlines had two deadly crashes— both of which resulted in two fatalities.
Here’s what to know about cargo plane crashes and when they go down.
UPS Airlines has had two fatal plane crashes in company history, according to reporting by the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. A handful of other minor, non-fatal crashes have resulted in substantial damage to planes.
In September 2010, a UPS Boeing 747-400F caught fire in flight. The plane crashed near Dubai, killing both crew members on board. It was the shipping and logistics company’s first fatal crash.
In August 2013, a plane that departed from the Louisville airport crashed near its final destination of Birmingham, Alabama.
The plane was an Airbus A300-600F and descended to an unsafe altitude, ultimately crashing and killing both crew members aboard. Pilot fatigue and plane instability were found to be factors in the crash after a federal investigation.
FedEx Express, a major cargo carrier and one of the oldest, has had several crashes. At least one was deadly.
In 2009, FedEx Express Flight 80 crashed on landing in Narita, Japan, after flying from Guangzhou, China. Both crew members on board died. The captain was from Oregon; the first officer was from Texas.
According to the Japan Transport Safety Board, the plane bounced during landing, a wing broke off, tearing at the fuselage and the plane caught fire.
In 1994, Auburn Calloway, a FedEx flight engineer turned hijacker, aimed to crash Federal Express Flight 705 to kill himself so his family could collect money from his life insurance policy.
But the crew overpowered Calloway and managed to land safely. Calloway was sentenced to life in prison.
The Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported in 2019 that the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 plane involved remains in operation.
There have been deadly crashes among non-American cargo carriers.
Five people died after Ukraine Air Alliance Flight 4050 crashed on its approach to Lviv International Airport, Ukraine, in 2019. Three people on board survived.
Also in 2019, a Boeing 707 cargo plane operated by Saha Airlines crashed in Iran, killing 15 of 16 people on board. The plane crashed after pilots landed at the wrong airport and overran the runway.
A DHL International Aviation ME cargo flight was involved in one of the deadliest midair collisions.
BAL Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 collided with DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611 near the German-Swiss border in 2002, resulting in the death of all 71 aboard the two planes.
The flights crossed paths after the Bashkirian crew failed to follow the plane’s traffic collision avoidance system, a German Federal Bureau of Aircraft investigation found, leading it to collide with the cargo airline.