The charred, mangled metal.

In some cases.

At that point, there were still some smoke rising from piles of debris.

>> A closer look tonight at the UPS plane crash site and new dash cam video of the crash itself.

>> Planes were lining up to take off, and then all of a sudden you have this horrific accident takeoff.

>> The group that represents UPS pilots around the world weighs in on the investigation and what it hopes to learn from it.

>> So it has a ripple effect across the entire family and across what children have access to in order for them to be safe and stable.

>> And new efforts to reduce household evictions in the state.

>> Production of Kentucky edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky edition for Thursday, November 6th.

I'm Laura Rogers in our Louisville studio, filling in tonight for Renee Shaw.

Thank you for joining us.

Search and recovery efforts continue today following the UPS plane crash in Louisville.

Mayor Craig Greenberg says 12 people have died from the crash and that nine people still unaccounted for could be among the dead.

UPS has identified the three crew members killed.

Captain Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and Officer Dana Diamond.

Our June Leffler has the latest on the crash.

>> If you do the math, we may have identified.

We may have located all of the victims.

Our hope is that we have located all of the victims at this point.

But again, we do not know.

The search will continue.

>> Three people were aboard the plane when it struggled to get off the ground Tuesday.

New dash cam video shows the plane flying low to the ground seconds before it crashed, erupting in flames.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the plane's left wing caught fire and the engine fell off moments after takeoff.

Congressman Morgan McGarvey of Louisville Governor Andy Beshear and the mayor toured the crash site yesterday.

>> Half a mile long, standing there where you could just see the destruction, the charred, mangled metal in some cases.

At that point, there were still some smoke rising from piles of debris, saw first responders that were still working intensely, most of whom had just gotten to the scene, some of whom, though had been there since the night before that, were still working, doing whatever it takes to identify victims.

>> Investigators say they continued to monitor air quality around the site.

>> From the National Guard, came in and took over air monitoring force, and they they asked not only air monitored around the area, but we gave them several intersections going north where the plume was all the way towards the river.

And they those they were not getting any significant air monitoring readings for any health hazards all the way to the river.

And that's why through the night, we were able to significantly reduce that shelter in place area.

Now to what it is.

It's just a quarter mile, which really only encompasses the site.

They always check for any kind of explosive limits, any kind of volatile or volatile organic compounds.

They check for carbon monoxide.

They check for oxygen levels to make sure that the oxygen levels are correct.

And like I said, away from that site, they didn't get any adverse readings.

>> The UPS handling facility at the Muhammad Ali International Airport is the company's largest.

It employs more than 20,000 people, handles 300 flights a day and sorts nearly half a million packages an hour.

UPS says it's working with the NTSB to investigate the crash.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm June Leffler.

>> The NTSB says it's recovered both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Information from both recorders was successfully downloaded.

The NTSB does not release audio from cockpit voice recorders, but a partial transcript should be available in the coming days.

Louisville's Worldport is the headquarters for UPS Airlines and the main flight training center.

Our Kelsey Starks sat down with the spokesperson for the Independent Pilots Association, the group that represents all UPS pilots.

>> Brian, good day is with the Independent Pilots Association.

Thank you so much for being here.

And again, our thoughts are with your UPS family right now.

Explain what it is the IPA is and what what you all do here in Louisville.

>> Well, thank you for having me.

So the Independent Pilots Association is the collective bargaining union unit or union for pilots of United Parcel Service.

We have 3500 members and they live all around the country, but they fly for UPS primarily out of four domiciles, with Louisville being the biggest, representing about half of our pilot group.

>> Now, I know you can't talk specifics about this particular crash, but what can you tell us about this point in the investigation or what what you all are hoping to learn from the investigation?

>> So we can tell you, as we're at the very beginning, as the governor said at his press conference about 24 hours ago, we're moved from the rescue stage to the recovery stage.

And as the NTSB press conference occurred yesterday, the IPA was made a party to the investigation.

So as happened in 2013 with UPS flight 1354 in Birmingham, our crew members, our members of our union will actually go on to those working groups with the National Transportation Safety Board and help to help to do this investigation.

>> And unfortunately, this is not the first deadly plane crash for UPS, but it is the first to happen here at home in Louisville, where you all are.

What what has that been like?

>> It's different.

Our first crash was in Dubai and so very far away.

Other side of the world.

Tragic loss of two crew members.

Same thing in Birmingham 2013.

Tragic loss of two crew members.

But this one's at home and it really hits home because of that.

And like I said in the last crashes we lost the crews.

Again, tragic.

But you know lose now nine known civilians who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

And with still 16 people unaccounted for, this is I mean, like I said, tragedy for Louisville and tragedy for the IPA and UPS.

>> Yeah, it is.

I know a lot of your pilots are highly trained.

Many of them are military or ex-military.

What?

Tell us a little bit about the training that that goes into all of all of these pilots.

>> Sure.

And so what's interesting about our pilot group, for the most part, this isn't your first job in in aviation when you're hired by UPS, you've been in the military for 20 years.

You've been at other airlines for 20 years.

You generally come here in your mid 40s.

So these are very experienced pilots when they come in the door.

And then beyond that they're well trained pilots.

So no matter what fleet 747 757767 Md11 no matter what fleet, these are well trained, highly trained and highly experienced pilots.

>> You mentioned too, about the investigation and how we're at the very beginning.

And I know you said also a lot of people are looking at the horrific video and pictures, and there's a lot of speculation.

Right.

And you've learned a few things from being in this position a while about speculation.

>> Yes.

We don't speculate.

But again, having gone through this in 2010 and 2013, what you find is, is when the NTSB investigation is allowed to take its course and allowed to reveal its reveal what happened to the airplane, to the engines.

You know, what was the experience of the flight crew 72 hours before the crash?

What was the weather?

All sorts of other factors.

You know, the picture really begins to come together.

Like for us in 2010, we learned that, you know, the cause was lithium ion batteries.

And because of that, working with the company and a safety task force, we were able to, you know, get full face oxygen masks.

We were able to get a system called Ivas, which allows pilots to see in a smoke filled cockpit.

We were allowed to get containers that generally can contain a lithium battery fire for two hours.

So hopefully the crew can find a place to land and get down and other changes.

What we learned from the 2013 flight in Birmingham was that fatigue was a contributing factor, and that's something that we've been aggressively trying to address with not only the company, but the federal government and the FAA.

>> So best case here, you're hoping that you do learn something from this.

>> We will learn something from this investigation.

>> Yeah.

Talk talk a little bit about the IPA and the support that you all provide for for the families affected by this and the UPS family in general.

You know, people who weren't there are still very much impacted by a situation like this.

>> Well, unfortunately, there were a lot of UPS employees that were present when this happened was early in the evening, five ish in the afternoon, very active ramp, meaning planes were taxiing and planes were taxiing out.

Planes were loading up.

First officers were making their walk around inspection of aircrafts, planes were lining up to take off, and then all of a sudden you have this horrific accident take off.

So in that, in addition to all the UPS teamster employees who are working on the ramp, at the time, there were a lot of people there.

There was a lot of first person impact in addition to what went on downrange.

As for the IPA family, we do a great job of taking care of our our members while we fly out of for domiciles Louisville, Anchorage, and one in California and one in Florida.

You know, half of all those people are fly out of Louisville, Kentucky.

So we have a very good group that reaches out to, you know, the surviving spouse, the family members, you know, not only for the initial touch to, you know, inform them of what is unfortunately happened, but, you know, making sure that we follow up with them and then providing resources to our other members of the pilot group in generally in a pilot to pilot or spouse to spouse way.

Again, like a family.

>> Yeah.

It is so much like a family.

And I know the whole Louisville community feels a part of that.

What can the community do right now to to help?

>> I think more than anything else, be patient.

I mean, we're still within the first 48 hours since the crash.

These are hectic times.

These are a lot of, you know, a lot of speculation, a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of people who are unfortunately still missing.

Just be patient.

I know that Teamsters Local 89 is holding a candlelight vigil tonight.

You know, it's those those celebrations and solidarity that mean a lot to the pilot union as we go through this and as we continue once again down this unfortunate path.

>> Thank you so much for your time and for being here.

>> Thank you, Kelsey.

>> Appreciate it.

>> And that vigil is underway right now at the Teamsters Union Hall on Taylor Boulevard in Louisville.

The Louisville airport will see fewer flights tomorrow for reasons unrelated to the UPS crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it is reducing air traffic at 40 airports because of the government shutdown.

Airports in both Louisville and Northern Kentucky are on the FAA's list.

The agency says the move is necessary to keep passengers safe while relieving pressure on air traffic controllers, who are working without pay.

During the shutdown, more and more employees have been missing work and are scheduled to miss their second paycheck next week.

Airports in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are also impacted.

A spokesperson for the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport told KET, quote, we are in contact with both our passenger and cargo airline partners about their schedules at SDF.

However, we do not have any specific details at this time.

In other news, Governor Andy Beshear says Democrats who won across the country Tuesday had the right message about issues Americans care about.

Democrats won governors races in Virginia and New Jersey, the mayor's race in New York City and other races.

The governor talked about it during his news conference yesterday.

>> But what you saw across the country where Democrats winning in in city council races in South Carolina, statewide races in in Georgia, you saw the New York race and many others.

And I think it says two things.

Number one, the American people are so concerned about the American dream slipping away.

They are looking for candidates that are focused on their everyday concerns and needs, and that starts with their job and whether they can afford what they need to feed their family.

Maybe take them on a vacation every once in a while.

The ability to to afford that next doctor's appointment, to be able to travel safe roads and bridges to to know the school they dropped their kids off at is a quality school, and they want to feel safe in their neighborhoods.

That's where the Democratic candidates were.

That's how they ran, even even across different parts of a political spectrum.

That's what people were promising.

>> With these off year elections behind us, the focus shifts to next year's midterm elections.

Kentucky will elect a new United States senator, and there are elections in all six of Kentucky's U.S.

House districts, in addition to races for the Kentucky General Assembly.

When there is a federally declared disaster.

One of the first groups on the ground is the Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance.

It offers low interest loans to small businesses, as well as homeowners and renters who need financial help to recover after a natural disaster.

Our McKenzie Spink tells us how these loans impacted a Kentuckian who lived through the deadly tornado that hit the Sunshine Hills neighborhood in Laurel County.

>> The electric went off and it got and then you could hear a roar starting.

So I went and joined her in the closet, and she was behind me, and I was sitting in front of her.

Then the storm hit.

It was a deafening noise.

I mean, it just about bust your eardrums and you could hear glass breaking and the house coming apart, and it was trying to take us with it.

>> Now, over five months later, Scott Stouffer and his wife are the only people still living on their street in the Sunshine Hills neighborhood.

Like many of their neighbors, their house was torn apart by the tornado.

Their homeowner's insurance covered the repairs to the home, but Stover's truck was a lost cause.

>> I had a a Ford Platinum truck, and it put a board through the motor and it ripped off the whole side of the truck.

I mean, it it destroyed it.

>> Stoffer travels across the state for work, and after a family member heard about the Small Business Administration through the London City Council, Stoffer decided to apply for one of its disaster assistance loans to replace his truck.

The Small Business Administration's disaster assistance team has been present in the state since the devastating floods back in February.

Despite the name of the organization, a majority of the disaster loans they offer are to assist homeowners and renters.

>> All of the loans that we offer are funded by the U.S.

Treasury, and these are disaster loans that are that are targeted in the specific counties and available to the residents of those counties that are affected by the storms.

>> The loans offered to survivors of the May 16th tornado in Laurel and Pulaski counties totaled over $12 million of assistance, and over 90% of the loans were awarded to homeowners.

These disaster assistance loans have lower interest rates, which can make a huge difference for homeowners trying to put their lives back together after a disaster.

>> They're very low interest rates.

There are 4% and less, and if and once they get all of their paperwork into us, we're going to look to see and they sign their closing documents.

We're going to look to get that first payment of up to $25,000 in their bank account within five working days.

>> We asked for a little over 13,000, something like that, and we got approved.

And and I highly recommend anybody that's not got that loan.

They ought to look into it because you don't have to pay it back for a year.

And the interest rate was like 2.9, 2.3.

It was ridiculously low.

So it was something that we could afford.

>> The disaster assistance loans can be used to repair damaged homes, replace belongings, or even relocate a home to a safer area.

Some of the money can also be used to strengthen property against future storm damage.

>> You know, so it could be a storm shelter.

It could be a it could be a seepage problem, could be a sump pump, but also to over the life of the loan, if they need additional funds, they can go back to their loan officer.

They can request additional funds.

>> The window to file loans because of physical damage done by the May tornadoes is now closed.

But businesses that experienced income loss due to the storms can still apply for economic injury loans.

That deadline is in April of 2026 for Kentucky edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> A retired fire captain, is suing the city of Paducah, and Laurel County wants a stronger relationship with the county's kids.

Our Toby Gibbs tells us more.

And this look at headlines around Kentucky.

>> Paducah City Commission voted to fire Captain Nathan Torian of the Paducah Fire Department October 3rd.

Now Torian is suing the city, the commission, the city manager and the fire chief.

TV says the commission fired Torian for insubordination.

In his lawsuit.

He says he was fired for engaging in union activity and complaining about public safety issues.

He wants his job back, back pay damages and money for attorney's fees.

He says the city violated his First Amendment rights and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Ron Bunch has resigned as CEO of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce.

Bunch had been CEO since 2010, according to The Paducah Sun.

A press release about the resignation does not say why bunch is leaving.

Warren County Judge executive Doug Gorman says bunch is a passionate negotiator and advocate for the community.

The chamber will appoint an interim leader.

There's a new way to get to Virginia from part of eastern Kentucky.

The state just dedicated U-S 460, stretching from US 23 into Virginia.

The News Express says part of the road is named for Sergeant Thomas Epling, a veteran of the Korean War.

His son in law is State Senator Philip Wheeler of Pikeville, who spoke at the dedication ceremony, the Sentinel Echo reports.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office has launched the Behind the Badge Youth Program, a campaign to build trust between the sheriff's office and young people.

The program will start in January with a meet the deputies event.

There will be events the second Tuesday of each month on topics including forensics, police dogs, crime prevention and anti-bullying efforts.

With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> There are almost 13,000 court ordered evictions each year in Kentucky.

A majority of all families with children.

Advocates say those children can suffer negative physical and mental health outcomes, and can even find it difficult to secure housing once they become adults.

A new database launched by Kentucky Youth Advocates is tracking evictions across the state, and it has the backing of a state lawmaker who plans to present a bill she says will reduce the long term consequences of evictions.

>> We know that evictions in general impact Kentucky kids pretty significantly in their families.

Most evictions involve at least one child.

Across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and when evictions happen, we know that it causes instability for the child.

It can create pressures around access to nutritious food, access to education, access to health care.

So it has a ripple effect across the entire family and across what children have access to in order for them to be safe and stable.

Representative Whitten will be filing a bill for the 2026 legislative session that is related to expunging eviction dismissals.

So if somebody gets an eviction filed against them but it doesn't, it's not completed because it's addressed otherwise and somebody doesn't actually experience an eviction that still stays on the record.

So allowing for eviction, dismissals, dismissals to be expunged can ensure that there was more access to housing for families.

And then we also know that right now, minors are being identified on those evictions, and we know that one that shouldn't be happening.

And and really, oftentimes the intent is not to name minors.

But sometimes that happens.

And right now there's no mechanism to remove their names.

>> It's so important to make sure that we don't put up unnecessary barriers for Kentuckians, and especially Kentucky Kentuckians with small children, to have access to, to, you know, affordable housing.

This has been really narrowly crafted to to not burden the, the, the, the landlord in any way.

He he they have every right to if they are owed past rent or anything like that, they still have that ability to do so.

>> The hope.

>> With this.

>> Eviction dashboard is that it.

Creates opportunities for individuals to talk to their policymakers, especially their state legislators, about the what they're seeing in their community and in their district when it comes to families who are facing eviction, the prevalence of eviction, and opportunities to make some changes to the way that we support families when it comes to housing and create more access.

One, to ensure, you know, what Representative Whitten had talked about is making sure that there's enough supply, right?

Because that's really important.

We are short on units, but also making sure that we have some really common sense measures that are not creating unnecessary barriers for families to access housing.

>> We really think that we've we've walked through it and, and have vetted it.

And so we're really we're really proud of the language.

And we really think that it's it's just good legislation that needs to pass this year.

>> And you can view the Eviction Data dashboard and learn more information about evictions at the web address on your screen.

A continuing government shutdown and uncertainty over Snap benefits have many Kentucky families worried about where their next meal will come from.

One local nonprofit is helping relieve some of that anxiety.

>> This is across the board.

Even if you're experiencing a crisis due to the rising cost of living affordability, there is really no barrier or obstructions to being able to receive this support.

>> Tomorrow on Kentucky Edition.

How this ag based organization is putting fresh food on the table for families facing food insecurity.

We'll have that story and many others tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central for Kentucky Edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We hope that you'll join us again on Friday.

In the meantime, subscribe to our Kentucky Edition email newsletters.

You can watch full episodes and clips at KET.

Dot email your story ideas to Public Affairs at ket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you so much