Names Released of 14 People Killed in Louisville UPS Plane Crash

Authorities in Louisville, Kentucky, have released the names of the 14 victims killed in the devastating UPS cargo plane crash earlier this month a horrific accident that claimed innocent lives both in the air and on the ground. The tragedy has rattled the city and reignited concerns over aging aircraft and safety protocols in heavily populated industrial zones.

The MD-11 cargo plane, loaded with nearly 50,000 gallons of fuel, crashed in flames shortly after takeoff from Muhammad Ali International Airport on November 4, en route to Hawaii. Video footage captured moments before the crash showed the left engine detaching from the wing during the takeoff roll, triggering a massive fireball upon impact.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg led a somber press conference Wednesday to publicly identify the victims, calling the loss an “unimaginable tragedy.”

“Each of these victims represents a life full of purpose, interrupted far too soon,” the mayor said.

Among the victims were:

• Capt. Dana Diamond, 62

• Capt. Richard Wartenberg, 57

• First Officer Lee Truitt, 45

• Louisnes Fedon, 47, and his granddaughter Kimberly Asa, 3

• Angela Anderson, 45

• Carlos Fernandez, 52

• Trinadette “Trina” Chavez, 37

• Tony Crain, 65

• John Loucks, 52

• John Spray, 45

• Matthew Sweets, 37

• Ella Petty Whorton, 31

• Megan Washburn, 35

Diamond, Wartenberg, and Truitt were identified as the crew members of the doomed aircraft. The other 11 victims were on the ground at Grade A Auto Parts and Scrap Metal Recycling, a business located just south of the runway, tragically in the path of the crash. According to the business’s owner, all were either employees or customers caught in the wrong place at the worst possible time.

This incident marks one of the deadliest domestic cargo plane crashes in recent memory and raises significant questions about air traffic risk zones near industrial centers, as well as the continued use of older aircraft like the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, a model introduced in the 1990s.

• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not released an official cause, but confirmed the left engine broke off mid-takeoff, igniting the disaster.

• Both UPS and FedEx have grounded their MD-11 fleets out of caution as investigations continue.

• A preliminary NTSB report is expected by early December.

Meanwhile, hazmat and environmental crews are still working to contain and remove the wreckage, and to prevent the crash-related oil spill from seeping into Louisville’s groundwater system.

The scope of this tragedy extends beyond aviation. It’s a reminder that the impact of catastrophic failure reaches far beyond the cockpit, affecting families, small businesses, and entire communities. The victims including a three-year-old child leave behind broken families and a city mourning the avoidable cost of operational failure.

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