UPS Crew on Doomed Plane Only Had 25 Seconds to React After Bells Went Off

The crew of doomed UPS Flight 2976 only had seconds to react to emergency notifications before the plane crashed into businesses located just outside of Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) on Nov. 4, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) analysis of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR).

“About 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, a repeating bell was heard on the CVR, which persisted until the end of the recording, 25 seconds later,” NTSB member Todd Inman said during a media briefing on Nov. 7.

Inman confirmed that the crew had less than 30 seconds to respond to the persistent bells that were ringing before the plane crashed into Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts.

The NTSB representative did not want to use the word “alarms” because the data is still under investigation.

The independent government organization will bring in experts to produce a written transcript regarding what was said onboard, but this won’t be released for several months, according to the briefing.

During Friday’s press conference, the NTSB also revealed that the left engine’s pylon was still attached when the engine separated from the wing. A pylon is the structural component that attaches an aircraft’s engine to the wing, according to Acorn Welding.

Investigators found engine parts at the debris site, which they suspect could have been damaged when the plane made contact with the ground.

The FBI began reviewing 30 potentially hazardous areas, and more than 100 first responders remain on scene to contain hotspots.

“The debris field itself is still active—in more ways than one,” Inman said.

“In fact, while we were there with the emergency management coordinator, there were some spot fires that were popping up and some compressed paper products emitting a lot of smoke,” Inman said.

The board additionally released an aerial video that showed the large debris field full of damaged buildings, cars, ashes and wreckage.

Business owners nearby are slowly being allowed back to their company’s grounds, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced on Nov. 7.

At least 13 people, including a child, were killed on Nov. 4 when an engine fell from the left wing of the UPS cargo plane and caused it to crash moments after takeoff. The plane was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, manufactured in 1991, headed from Louisville, Kentucky, to Honolulu with three crew members on board.

UPS Flight 2976 crew members Captain Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt, and International Relief Officer Captain Dana Diamond were killed in the crash, UPS confirmed. The identities of the other victims have not yet been released.

Nine individuals remain unaccounted for as a state of emergency remains in effect to provide resources to local, state, and federal authorities who responded to the scene.

Community members attended a vigil to remember the victims on Nov. 6.

The Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport opened its third runway on Thursday, which made the airfield fully operational, but it had to prepare for another hurdle: FAA-mandated flight reductions.

“Cancellations are expected for a small number of passenger flights at SDF as a result,” the airport said in a statement on Friday.

The airport canceled 12 and delayed 25 flights on Friday, per FlightAware.com.