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The total count of lives lost due to the UPS cargo plane that caught fire and crashed has now risen to 13, per latest statements.

City Leader's Announcement

“On my way to the Teamsters’ vigil, I received word of a additional fatality that lost their life as a result of the plane accident,” stated the city mayor in a online message. “My heart are with the loved ones, friends and peers of all who were killed in this recent tragedy. We will endure this together.”

Casualties Identified

A release from the company named the pilots on board the jet as Pilot Richard Wartenberg, Co-pilot Lee Truitt, and Relief Captain Dana Diamond.

“Our sympathies go out to every employee who has been touched and all in our Louisville area – helping you and guaranteeing you obtain the care and aid you need is our main concern,” the firm’s statement read.

Probe Updates

National investigators announced that the freight aircraft’s port side wing caught fire and an power plant separated shortly after departure from the aviation hub, causing the aircraft to crash and burst into a inferno.

The safety agency stated it is investigating the plane’s maintenance history, which was in the state for maintenance weeks prior to the incident.

Flight tracking records showed the plane was on the ground in the Texas city from 3 September to mid-October.

“We are knowledgeable that this aircraft was located in the facility,” stated an NTSB member on Thursday, without providing a exact time frame. “We will examine all elements of repairs that was done, including the San Antonio period, straight to the time of the journey.”

Findings of Critical Components

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered, and the power plant was discovered on the airfield.

The units – known as data containers – were designed to survive accident forces and extreme temperatures from blazes, and they appeared to be undamaged when located among the crash debris. Officials plan on examining data from the recorders.

Aircraft’s final recorded information indicated an elevation of 475 feet and a rate of 210 mph prior to the accident.

Maintenance Background

Per FAA records dated that date, a crack on a component within the tank area demanded fixes.

Singapore-based ST Engineering, which indicated it provides structural repairs for the company’s jet and manages a maintenance center in Texas, chose not to speak, but said it would work closely when investigators reached out it.

Activities Continue

At the same time, UPS Worldport services continued Wednesday night with its Next Day Air also known as nighttime operation, spokesperson the company official confirmed. Each of the three runways at Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport were also open again.

The distribution hub in Louisville is the company’s most significant. The center engages over a large number of workers in the region, manages 300 trips per day and organizes in excess of four hundred thousand packages per hour.

Local Support

A candlelight vigil was conducted on the late afternoon of that date by the regional worker’s group, which supports staff at the Louisville airport, the company’s primary freight center.

Teamsters Local 89, which stands for staff, started the memorial with a quiet tribute at that time, the rough hour of the crash previously.

“This event was so unexpected, so unforeseen,” the official spoke to the assembly of attendees. “No one had a opportunity to bid farewell to any of those who we have said farewell to.”