Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg, and Kentucky Third District Congressman Morgan McGarvey provided an update on the UPS Flight 2976 crash after touring the crash site Wednesday afternoon.
Beshear described the scene of the crash as “violent.”
“Where the plane hit, at best, is destroyed,” Beshear said. “What you see are mangled remnants of what was in its path, completely burnt and blackened.”
The Governor confirmed the number of total fatalities as of Wednesday afternoon was 11. A 12th fatality was confirmed Wednesday evening.
Beshear said operations are moving from rescue to recovery.
“We do not expect to find anyone else alive in the area,” Beshear said. “Because of that, we now move and put the safety of the first responders at the top of the list, and so we’re going to have limited operations at night because if you walk through this debris field it’s very easy for somebody to get hurt, and we want to make sure that everyone on site is safe. After disasters, we have lost people, and I don’t want that to happen here.”
A victim family reunification center has been established at the Louisville Metro Police Training Academy, located at 2911 Taylor Boulevard.
McGarvey said the National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation.
“They are going to do their best to get us answers,” McGarvey said. “As much as we’re hurting right now, we want those answers quickly. They want to make sure though that they’re both thorough, that they’re right, that they’re showing respect for everyone involved. We will continue working with them and giving them everything they need.”
Anybody that believes they have possible debris from the crash on their property is asked to not disturb it but report it to witness@ntsb.qov.
The Governor has declared a state of emergency in response to the crash. Kentuckians can support victims by contributing to the Team Kentucky Emergency Relief Fund.
