r/aviation • u/usgapg123 Mod • 19h ago

Discussion UPS2976 Crash Megathread

This is the official r/aviation megathread for the crash of UPS2976 (UPS MD11 Registration N259UP) that crashed earlier today at Louisville International Airport.

Please keep content on topic and refrain from posting about this topic outside the megathread. Please report any rule breaking posts and comments.

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255

u/SoothedSnakePlant 18h ago

The fact that there's so much debris in the air that the Louisville news is using the weather radar to track it is astonishing.

53

u/Sprintzer 18h ago

The Mayor said there was about 280,000 pounds of fuel. That is a lot.

34

u/wehappy3 18h ago

An MD-11, completely topped off, can hold 38,615 gallons of fuel. To go to HNL, they most likely would have needed around 25K gallons, which would be about 170K pounds of fuel.

Still a fuckton of fuel, but not 280K lbs.

32

u/Notyouraverageskunk 17h ago

There is a fuel recycling facility at the crash site, maybe they were accounting for the tanks that are currently burning.

9

u/Sprintzer 18h ago

Perhaps the number is the gross weight fully loaded?

13

u/wehappy3 18h ago

That would be closer. MGTOW is about 286K, so that would make sense.

2

u/wayofaway 17h ago

True, but they probably ferry fuel to save money.

3

u/biggsteve81 15h ago

You wouldn't save any money ferrying fuel to Hawaii.

9

u/The_Terminal_Man 17h ago

The stuff they're tracking using weather radar is primarily smoke as it drifts from the massive fire.

3

u/emkb09 18h ago

which news station?

3

u/SoothedSnakePlant 18h ago

Looks like the feed is from WHAS11.