Staff report
Richard Wartenberg of Erlanger has been identified as one of the victims of the UPS plane crash Tuesday at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Wartenberg, 58, was the captain of Flight 2976 and previously lived in Independence for a time. He was a retired pilot in the Air Force Reserve assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Two other crewmembers — First Officer Lee Truitt of Albuquerque, N.M. and international relief officer Captain Dana Diamond of Caldwell, Tx. — were also killed in the crash.
At least 14 people have been confirmed dead after the MD-11, Flight 2976, crashed on take-off from Louisville, headed to Honolulu. The other victims have not yet been identified. Nine others are still missing.
The crash is the deadliest in UPS history and the towering plume of smoke was visible for miles. Investigators say that the left engine detached from the wing of the plane during takeoff.
The National Transportation Safety Board is in charge of the investigation. Investigators said they have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, called the black box, from the aircraft.
News reports from the scene describe layers of debris in an area of about half a mile.