Louisville plane crash cause revealed as death toll rise

Investigators have revealed the cause of the plane crash that killed 12 people in Louisville on Tuesday. Airport security footage seen by officials shows the left engine of the UPS cargo jet detaching from its wing as it was moving down the runway.

Just moments after taking off from the Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, the aircraft erupted in a fireball and crashed into nearby buildings. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official Todd Inman said at a briefing: "We have viewed airport CCTV security coverage, which shows the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll. After being cleared for takeoff, a large plume of fire in the area of the left wing occurred during the takeoff roll."

He revealed that the cockpit voice recorder and the engine had been recovered from the area, but when describing the debris scattered across half a mile of runway, he added: "There are a lot of different parts of this aeroplane in a lot of different places."

The plane had only just set off from the UPS Worldport, destined for Honolulu, when it came down in a huge explosion that sent off a chain reaction at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, causing a smaller explosion.

It managed to reach an altitude of just 175 feet then fell sharply plummeting into the area nearby.

The plane also hit a salvage yard, which killed a child who was with his parents at the business. Summer Dickerson, who works nearby, told AP she saw the plane fill the sky with flames.

She added: "I didn't know if we were getting attacked. I didn't know what was going on.

"I saw a plane in the sky coming down over top of our volleyball courts in flames. In that moment, I panicked. I turned around, ran through the bar screaming, telling everyone that a plane was crashing."

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg revealed on Wednesday evening that the death toll had risen to 12 people but predicted it would continue to rise as emergency services look for "a handful of other people" who he did not expect to be alive.

He added: "Please take a moment to hug your loved ones and check on your neighbours."

Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said it's too soon to tell why the engine broke off, but gave two potential reasons why it could have happened.

"It could have been the engine partially coming off and ripping out fuel lines. Or it could have been a fuel leak igniting and then burning the engine off."