The death toll from the UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky in early November has risen to 15 after a man injured on the ground died on Christmas from his wounds, according to officials.
Alain Rodriguez Colina was working at a scrapyard that was one of the businesses into which UPS Flight 2976 crashed as it took off from Louisville’s airport on 4 November. Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, and Louisville’s mayor, Craig Greenberg, each confirmed that Rodriguez died on Thursday.
“Alain is the 15th victim of the UPS Flight 2976 accident,” Greenberg wrote on X. “He suffered severe injuries at the time of the crash and passed earlier this Christmas Day.
“May Alain’s memory be a blessing.”
Separately on X, Beshear called Rodriguez’s death “tough news” while soliciting prayers for the loved of all those who were killed in the crash.
“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.”
Sean Garber, owner of Grade A Auto Parts & Recycling, told the Louisville news outlet Wave that Rodriguez was the fourth of the company’s employees to die in the plane crash. Customers of Grade A were killed as well.
A company newsletter cited by USA Today said Rodriguez worked at Grade A since 2023, developing a reputation for “always greeting customers with a smile, while going above and beyond for each”.
Beside people on the ground, three pilots on UPS Flight 2976 died when the plane’s left engine detached as it departed Muhammad Ali international airport, home to the package delivery service’s largest hub. Terrifying video captured the MD-11 plane that was fully loaded with fuel for a trip to Hawaii as it barreled into businesses near the airport and erupted into a fireball.
The National Transportation Safety Board later said that investigators found cracks where the plane’s engine connected to its wing.
Four days after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of all MD-11s, which for more than a decade had been used exclusively to fly cargo.
UPS in early December was met with a pair of wrongful death lawsuits that accused the company of continuing to fly older planes without stepping maintenance up beyond the regularly scheduled amount. The manufacturer of the plane’s detached engine, General Electric (GE), was also named as a defendant in those lawsuits.
Both UPS and GE have said they do not comment on unresolved lawsuits but asserted that safety was their top priority as they assisted investigators scrutinizing the 4 November crash.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
