United States investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the UPS MD-11 cargo plane that crashed in flames during takeoff from Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport, killing at least 12 people, including three crew members.
The NTSB said one of the jet's three engines detached from its left wing, sparking a massive fire that spread across an industrial area near the runway. The plane, bound for Honolulu, left a debris field stretching nearly half a mile.
Engine failure under investigation
Both the black boxes appear intact and are being sent to Washington for analysis, and officials stressed there's no link to the United States government shutdown.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency, as UPS resumed operations at its Worldport hub. Boeing and GE Aerospace are assisting investigators in what's now one of the deadliest cargo plane crashes in recent United States history.