The National Transportation Safety Board held an investigative hearing Tuesday, looking into what caused a United Parcel Service cargo plane to crash last year shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky.

The McDonald Douglas MD-11 cargo plane took off from Louisville Muhammad Ali Airport on Nov. 4, 2025, and managed to get 30 feet off the ground before crashing, according to a preliminary report. Photos in the report show fire coming off the aircraft's left engine as it broke off the wing and flew over the fuselage. 

The aircraft crashed into a recycling center, killing 15 people including the three pilots on board. Another 23 people on the ground were injured. 

The two-day fact-gathering hearing will include testimony from representatives of UPS, unions, the FAA and Boeing. Investigators have not said what caused the crash, but the NTSB released an investigative update in January that zeros in on the mounting assembly that holds the engine to the wing.