2:30 p.m. UPDATE: JCPS has announced classes will resume Thursday, Nov. 6.
11:10 a.m. UPDATE: JCPS has confirmed that air and water quality testing results from schools near the crash site were normal.
8:50 p.m. UPDATE: JCPS has canceled school on Nov. 5 because of the incident. “This will operate like a snow day with no online instruction,” the district said in a statement.
The Louisville Metro Government issued a shelter-in-place order on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 4, after a UPS plane crashed on the runway of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The initial order covered anywhere within a five-mile radius of the crash, and later they expanded it to the entire area from the airport northbound to the Ohio River.
Manual is around four miles from the airport, and the PA system instructed everyone on campus to shelter in place.
“We do not know the reason for the shelter in place yet, but please rest assured that we have staff in the building assisting our students,” Manual principal Michael Newman said in a statement to staff and students.
UPS Plane 2976 crashed at around 5:15 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA said that it and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the crash. In a press conference around 7:30 p.m., Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed “at least three” fatalities and 11 more injuries, some of which were “very significant.” He also said that the status of the three crew members who were on board is still unknown. At around 9:20 p.m., four fatalities were confirmed. By 10:15 p.m., the death toll had risen to seven fatalities. As of Nov. 6, there are nine confirmed fatalities.
Later, Newman said, “duPont Manual’s thoughts go out to everyone impacted by the crash, and we wish safety for everyone working emergency response for the situation.”
The second order said to avoid going outside because of smoke, which photos showed spread miles away from the airport.
“We were actually out on the river and my friend and I saw the big plume of smoke start coming up,” said Ellen Trautwein, a sophomore at Sacred Heart Academy. “We watched it slowly get bigger and come across the sky, and then ashes started coming down on us.” Trautwein confirmed that she and her group are safe.
Beshear additionally confirmed that two nearby businesses were affected: Kentucky Petroleum Recycling and Grade A Auto Parts.
“Because of the nature of these facilities, it may be some time before we can account for everyone or know that no one else was on the grounds,” Beshear said at the press conference.
Beshear also reported that LG&E currently has “no major outages,” though some outages may be necessary for safety. Beshear later asked all to follow guidelines regarding sheltering in place and staying away from the crash site.
“Do not go to the crash site. You will put people in danger. You will put yourself in danger. There may be people that still need to be rescued. Do not be the reason that the first responders cannot get to them,” Beshear said.
The health department asks that those in shelter-in-place areas close their windows and doors, shut off their air conditioning and shut off their heating in order to keep fumes out of their homes. Civilians are also asked to not touch any debris they may encounter from the crash.
Follow Manual RedEye for continued coverage on this event.
Matteo C. • Nov 5, 2025 at 7:06 am
I was on the river with Ellen, and it was like we were in a painting. The northwest side of the sky was full of pink rows of clouds in a blue sky, the northern side was completely empty except for the giant white supermoon, the southwest side (above the city from our perspective) was orange with a bright orange sun behind dark gray silhouettes of the bridges, and the southern and southeastern sky were entirely blue with a huge black curve wafting up from the ground. It looked like a Jimi Hendrix song irl. In an eerie way, it was almost beautiful until we learned what the smoke was from.
Small embers about the size of mosquitos fell first while the smoke was still a few miles away. When they hit the water, small fish would eat them because they thought the embers were insects. As the smoke fanned out and fully passed over us, larger embers started to fall. They were big enough to make visible ripples on the water. By the time we got back to the dock, there were small pieces of burnt cardboard and charred half sheets of paper floating above us. When we put away all of our equipment, the smoke was so thick that the large, bright supermoon just looked like a hazy gray circle.