A 15th person has died as a result of the UPS plane crash in Kentucky last month, officials announced.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed the death toll increase on social media Thursday night.
“Today, we lost Alain Rodriguez Colina due to his injuries from the UPS plane crash, bringing our total loss to 15,” Beshear wrote on X. “Let’s pray for these families today and in the days, months and years to come so they know they are not alone and they are loved.”
“May Alain’s memory be a blessing,” Greenberg added on Facebook.
Colina worked as a metal buyer at Grade A Auto Parts, one of the two businesses struck when UPS Flight 2976 crashed on Nov. 4. The aircraft went down around 5:15 p.m. while attempting to depart for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, the shipping company’s largest hub.
Video of the incident shows a fire on the left wing, and then a thick plume of smoke trailing the plane before it explodes into a massive fireball.
The entire left engine fell off the aircraft and was found in the airfield.
Dashboard cam video also captured the explosion as the plane lifted off the ground, rolled on its side and careened into a storage facility, leaving a trail of flames in its wake.
All three people onboard the aircraft were killed, as were another 12 people on the ground. The victims onboard were identified by UPS as Capt. Richard Wartenberg, 57; First Officer Lee Truitt, 45; and Dana Diamond, 62, the relief captain. Those killed on the ground ranged in age from 3 to 65.
Colina’s death came on Christmas Day, nearly two months after he was severely injured in the devastating crash. He got out of Grade A Auto after the plane plowed through the building, but was burned over 50% of his body, owner and CEO Sean Garber said in a phone interview on Friday.
Colina was put into an induced coma, never regaining consciousness, Garber said. He seemed to be starting to heal, but took a turn for the worse on Thursday.
According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the left engine of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 had separated from the wing as the plane accelerated down the runway. A bracket meant to hold the engine in place also cracked in two places, leading to the flames.
The plane only got about 30 feet off the runway before it crashed, the NTSB said, citing the flight data recorder collected from the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration has since grounded all MD-11s, which have been used only for hauling cargo for more than a decade.
With News Wire Services