November 5, 2025

The death toll is now up to 11 including a child after Tuesday's fiery crash of a UPS plane at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, trauma surgeon at UofL Hospital talks about treating those injured following the UPS plane crash, and how one county is stepping in to help federal workers impacted by the government shutdown. 

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
>> Louisville looked
apocalyptic last night.
♪
>> Kentucky mourns after a
deadly UPS plane crash in
Louisville and investigators
began their search for answers
about what went wrong
we're hearing about snap every

(00:27):
day in the news. Who's on it
and how does it work?
>> We said the best outcome as
we canceled the event. But here
we are.
>> As the federal government
shutdown drags on, what's being
done to help civilian workers
at Fort Campbell get the help
they need.

(00:48):
>> Production of Kentucky
Edition is made possible in
part by the KET Millennium
Fund.
♪
♪
Good Evening and welcome to
Kentucky EDITION for this
Wednesday, November, the 5th.

(01:10):
>> I'm Renee Shaw and our
Louisville studios downtown.
And we thank you for spending
some of your Wednesday night
with us. The death toll is now
up to 11, including a child
after yesterday's fiery crash
at a UPS plane at Muhammad Ali
International Airport in
Louisville. And tonight, the
rescue operation is
transitioning to a recovery

(01:30):
operation. The NTSB now says
the plane's left wing caught
fire and an engine fell off
during takeoff. That plane was
loaded with fuel for a long
trip from the UPS hub to
Honolulu. The smoke could be
seen for miles. The crash
forced the airport and other
businesses to close as well as

(01:50):
Jefferson County Public Schools
today, the airport is now open
again and school will resume
tomorrow. Our June Leffler
brings us the latest from
Louisville.
>> Skies are finally clear in
Louisville after a miles wide
bloom of smoke covered much
of the city the night before.

(02:11):
A cargo plane crashed and
exploded at the UPS World port
around 05:15PM, Tuesday.
>> Louisville looked
apocalyptic last night of
debris falling in every
neighborhood. People trapped in
their homes. For the families
who lost someone. Who won't be
coming home.

(02:33):
Who are the victims that have
tragically perished in this
crash. The coroner or the
Jefferson County kernel Corner
head. He's been at the scene is
back at the scene today.
And as soon as we have that
we will amplify the
information.
>> Nearly 40 fire crews from as
far as Lexington responded to
the blaze. Wednesday, a smaller

(02:54):
crews on site responding to
hazards and searching for
victims.
>> I don't know how many
victims were actually looking
for. Thats one of the issues
and the debris zone is so
large. Some of that debris is
going to have to be moved and
search underneath. So it will
take us quite a while.
>> Crews are contending with
large industrial debris from

(03:15):
the crash site and nearby
damaged businesses. Petroleum,
recycle business that race
there that created some issues
for us. The old that was stored
there came across the roadways,
got into waterways and misty's
on scene taking care that some
businesses where you could go
and pull apart from scrap

(03:38):
vehicles so large, same eyes
that are in there and multiple
multiple luckily, some other
businesses were spared a local
restaurant that is right there
that we had great concern would
be impacted and we would lose
whoever was then it was missed

(03:59):
and now is helping. The search
and rescue are grateful for
them. Another blessing is this
plane could have potentially
had a major Ford factory or the
convention center. Those are
all close by and did not.
>> Governor Beshear declared a
state of emergency to request
federal disaster funds and he
has set up a fund for victims.

(04:19):
>> Remember the first thing
that we pay for out of these
funds are funerals.
>> The National Transportation
Safety Board is on site
investigating the crash.
>> 28 people from the NTSB are
here on the ground. Plus the
support network back in
Washington, D.C., they are
going to analyze absolutely
every bit of what happened.

(04:41):
We're talking about everything
that is manmade. That is
machine-made. That is
environmental. The NTSB is
going to go over with a fine
tooth comb.
>> Other updates flights are
underway at Louisville's
Airport. The one runway is
closed, causing some delays
and cancellations. Those living
within a quarter mile of the

(05:02):
site are to shelter in place as
the city continues to monitor
the air and the Federal
Aviation Administration request
no one fly drones near the site
at this time for Kentucky
edition. I'm June Leffler.
Thank you so much. June U.S..
Senator Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky who is from
Louisville.
>> Talked about the crash today

(05:24):
on the U.S. Senate floor.
>> But the people are grateful
where the issue, a lot of s***
average. Of our first
responders. From local police
far. And the and the interest.
And a prayer of their fellow

(05:45):
Americans.
I want them to know that there
are represented here in
Washington to make ensure that
every federal resources they
need. On the ground. And then
there was a show.
>> A number of state lawmakers
from Louisville are also

(06:06):
commenting on the crash and a
bipartisan by Kamrel statement.
They said in part, quote, the
tragic crash at the Louisville
Airport has shaken our
community and our hearts are
heavy as we continue to learn
more about what happened in
moments like these mobile shows
its strength by supporting one.
Another offering comfort and
standing together in faith and

(06:26):
compassion and quote. More than
a dozen people were injured in
the crash. They were all
treated at local hospitals.
2 remain in critical condition
in intensive care units at
University of Louisville
Hospital. That's where we find
our Kelsey starts. Kelsey.

(06:47):
>> UPS is Louisville's largest
employer and playing some
26,000 people. So as you can
imagine, everyone in this
community somehow knows someone
who is part of the UPS family.
So this community has truly
been rocked by this tragedy.
Right now. We're told there
are still 2 patients in
critical condition at
University of Louisville
hospital's burn unit here.

(07:08):
And we talked to Dr Jason Smith
earlier about the range of
injuries they have had to treat
here in just the past. 24 hours
and how they prepare for
situations just like this one.
>> We've seen a burns,
obviously based upon the fire.
And we've seen those from being
very severe to to minor.
We've seen blast injuries from
the explosion itself. We've

(07:29):
also seen some some shrapnel
injuries where find pieces of
debris have hit either.
Bystanders are people in
relatively close proximity to
the accident when it occurred.
So really a game of that as
well as conditions that were
exacerbated from the smoke and
all the other things that came
into the hospital but were
treated code yellow as our
internal term for disaster

(07:51):
preparedness. So we actually
drill very consistently both
with the local EMS and the
local police as well as
internally for management of
disasters. Since we are the
trauma response hospital for
the area in the region. That
allows us to mobilize all of
our staff. And so, for example,
last evening we were able to
KET staff on premises or call
staff in in case we had a

(08:14):
number of casualties,
particularly early on. We
didn't know the type of
airplane that might have
crashed in. So, you know,
thinking your worst case
scenario if it was a massive
passenger airplane, you can
talk hundreds 100's of
casualties. And so we would
stand up all of our
capabilities in order to treat
those patients as well as work
with the local providers to
say, hey, other hospitals can

(08:35):
help and how can we support
those hospital with knowledge
as well as other help that we
can provide? When something
like this occurs? And you
really don't know the extent of
the injuries. You always think
worst case scenario. So for
this, we brought in everything
that we possibly could to the
hospital and the health care
system at large. We placed all
of our hospitals on standby
for disaster alerts so that
we could be able to to afford

(08:58):
whatever care was needed.
And then as the night
progressed and we saw that
there were fewer and fewer
casualties coming in, we were
able to kind of draw that down
a bit and get back to normal
operations. So our staff is
phenomenal. I think it talks to
the level and can dedication
of our staff even before we
declared a disaster alert.
When people started seeing this
on social media where the news

(09:19):
and we didn't know what was
occurring. We had folks really
starting to come back in and
they were staging. They said
I'm in the parking lot in my
car call. If you need me.
I'm in the cafeteria. I came
back into work. I think that
just talked to that to that
occasion of the people here you
about health like this is what
we do. This is why we're here.
We're here to serve the
community. It's a role that
we take very seriously. And
we're honored to be a part of.

(09:44):
>> In fact, once a year the
hospital trains score a massive
disaster drill where they
pinpoint and tweak their
procedures and their last one
happened just about a month
ago where they did a simulated
plane crashed. Real Renee, back
to you.
>> Thank you, Kelsey for that.
We will continue to follow this
story throughout the week as we

(10:05):
get more information about the
investigation and those
injured.
♪
♪
In other news, it's day 36 of
the federal government
shutdown. A new record this
morning, President Donald Trump

(10:27):
said the shutdown was a big
reason why many Republicans
were defeated yesterday in
several key elections across
the country. Democrats won
governors races in New Jersey
and Virginia. Trump is once
again calling on senators to
get rid of the filibuster,
which would remove the 60 vote
threshold to pass most
legislation.
The shutdown has prompted the

(10:47):
Trump administration to stop
funding for the SNAP program.
Better known as food stamps.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
declared a state of emergency
over that last Friday. Today he
announced new action to help
Kentucky's food banks deal with
extra requests for food.
>> That authorized the Kentucky

(11:07):
National Guard. The best guard
in the country to assist in
staffing food banks as needed.
What this means is that every
dollar we're providing to the
food banks can go towards
purchasing the food and that we
can provide the extra staffing
that's needed as they see a
surge of families coming in
that will help ensure feeding
Kentucky in their partner food

(11:27):
banks can focus on distributing
meals without the hardships
of finding additional staff.
That's a federal shutdown
continues. We're also thinking
about all the ways the federal
workers face hardships and
we're doing what we can to
help. One way we're doing this
is by urging insurance
providers to continue coverage

(11:47):
for federal workers so they
don't lose that coverage.
More than 23,000 Kentucky
families are experiencing a
loss of income due to the
shutdown. Something that is no
fault of their own. Remember,
many have not been paid since.
Mid-October is incredibly
unfair for them to fear losing
coverage on top of concerns
about paying rent, well,

(12:07):
groceries or doctor's
appointments.
>> We've talked a lot about
snap in recent days. The
Federal Food stamp program that
helps more than 40 mil
40 million Americans. And about
600,000 Kentuckians put food on
the table. But how much do you
know about snap? Like who's
eligible, who's getting help?

(12:28):
And how much help do they get?
Our June Leffler is back with
those answers.
>> For some edge and under
Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal
and later made into law by
Congress and Lyndon B Johnson
in 1964, the entitlement
program known as food stamps
has been around for decades.
The program is meant to help

(12:50):
farmers, grocery stores.
And of course, Americans facing
hunger today. SNAP recipients
make up nearly 13% of
Kentuckians more than a 3rd of
whom are children. The average
household received $344 in SNAP
last month. Last year, Kentucky

(13:10):
answer received on average
$6.20 per day and
snap benefits totaling more
than 1 billion dollars in 2024.
while these recipients live
everywhere, many are
concentrated in eastern
Kentucky, according to a march
analysis, McCreary County had
the highest rate of SNAP
participation while Oldham

(13:32):
County had the lowest rate,
these recipients use EBT cards
which the state loads money on
too. Once a month, these cards
can be used at participating
retailers like grocery stores
and even some corner stores
online shops and farmers
markets. So who qualifies for
snap? A single person making

(13:54):
$20,000 a year likely
qualifies. So would a couple
with 2 kids making just above
$41,000 a year. Snap also looks
at a household's net income.
That's the money left after
pain, essential bills like rent
utilities and childcare costs,
households must meet both gross
and net income limits. Not just

(14:17):
one or the other their other
stipulations for SNAP
recipients. They must be
citizens or certain legal
permanent residents,
able-bodied adults without
dependents must work 20 hours a
week for long-term benefits,
though those without work can
still receive temporary
assistance recipients can only

(14:39):
have so much money in cash and
savings. Very low-income
Kentucky ends can be
fast-tracked for benefits if
they make less than $150 a
month if their income does not
cover their monthly bills or if
they're quote, destitute
migrants are seasonal farm
workers. Those snap is a
federal program. It is
administered by the state.

(15:00):
You can apply online or at one
of the State Department for
community-based services
offices like this one in
Louisville, all successful
applicants will eventually wind
up at one of these offices for
required in-person interview
for Kentucky Edition. I'm Jim
Leffler.
♪

(15:24):
>> Time now for our Reporter's
Notebook. What we talk about
some interesting developments
happening in Kentuckyian we
have Sylvia Goodman, who is the
state Capitol reporter for
Kentucky Public Radio. Thank
you for being with us for a
few minutes. But to be here,
you had a busy day will say
by covering the UPS disaster.
And so thank you for your
service and helping to tell
that story. But you've also

(15:45):
done some incredible work
recently on snap and that is
really dominated the headlines
as of late. And you've been
visiting food banks. Tell the
viewers what your story has
unveiled. Sure. I mean, this
is there's a reason why to
begin the headlines in Kentucky
loans roughly 600,000,
Kentuckians. I mean, that that
shift month to month. That's
why you hear sometimes over

(16:05):
sometimes under. But it's it's
about one in 8, Kentucky's,
which is roughly the same thing
is that the national average
is.
>> And I went to food banks
mostly here in Louisville.
But I also talked to food banks
all across the state in
Appalachia and some of the
counties that have the highest
rates of people rely on food
stamps. People, you know,
really just all over the place.

(16:27):
And I heard basically the same
thing was that food pantries
are gearing up. And I think
that this week has show that
they were right to gear up.
A lot of people having to turn
to food pantries when you know,
they're expecting at the
beginning of the month or
towards the beginning of the
month to get their regular food
allowance of that supplements
for most people, their of their
existing salaries are their
existing food allowance.

(16:50):
Didn't have that. They were
able to make that grocery
budget and they had to rely
on food pantry. So they were
just really bracing for for an
avalanche of of additional
people. And a lot of them are
quite scared that they just
wouldn't be able to support
their communities.
>> So it seems so confusing,
Sylvia, about okay. The judges
ruled you gotta do this.

(17:10):
The president said and then
came had a tweet or post on
X something about I'm not going
to do this because of the
Democrats in the shutdown.
So are people getting those
benefits now? Where does that
stand for my understanding, at
least in
Kentucky, people are not yet
getting their benefits and the
way I know that or have reason
to believe that is I'm in a lot
of different Facebook groups.

(17:32):
Yes, like that. For people who?
>> Who are talking to each
other about their benefits and
they say that their count
bounces still, you know, one
$1.0, dollars, whatever they're
at right now and the the the
whole saga you're talking
about, right? The judge did say
you have to use your
contingency funds to fund this.
Tell us your plan to do that

(17:52):
by Monday. And the Trump
administration says, yes, we
will do that will funded by
basically about half about 50%
of snap because that's what
they had in one of these
continued see finds that was
specific to snap. However, it's
unclear.
What the status of that is a
little bit because the
president did send out that

(18:12):
tweet that it simply said we're
not going to spend any of our
contingency funds until the
government is an shut down.
But I believe that Caroline
Leavitt, the White House press
secretary, said that the
president was referring to down
the road and that they would be
sending out these contingency
funds. So I think we're really
just kind of waiting on pins
and needles here for the state

(18:33):
to actually get that money say
they've received that money
and start processing it.
Bashir has committed to
processing that as quickly as
possible. Usually they get this
money, you know, a little bit
in advance of the right.
Have it all set up and ready.
It can take up to a couple
weeks. I don't know exactly how
long the timeline here at the
Kentucky right there probably
have set up a lot of plans to
get that money out faster.

(18:55):
You're hoping that's the case.
But as of right now, my
understanding is that at least
most people have not yet
received that benefit. And wow.
And so here we are. It is
November the 5th, a brand-new
mobbed. And when they say have
half of the money, so that
means a household would get
half when they do release at
half of what they would
normally would get. That is my
understanding. Yes, you know,
there's a little bit of

(19:17):
question of exactly how that
formula would work. But I think
what the Beshear administration
leases telling people is that
you we have received half that
funding. Yeah, and that you
will get a reduced benefit in
response, right? So to be
interesting to see how families
make that half go home. If I
had to guess they're going to
rely on food banks. And that's
the whole point is that the

(19:38):
food banks in our the food
banks are done it. Do they have
enough supply to meet the
demand? I think it depends on
where you are in the state.
I've heard some really
positive, really wonderful
things for people here in
Louisville that they are
getting an increase in
donations that people are
paying attention. But they are
reading past the headline and
they're thinking, how can I
help out? I think that there

(19:58):
are some areas the state that's
not the case. Now, there is
some state assistance going
out ad Governor Beshear said
that he would put 5 million
dollars. He is putting
5 million dollars into food
pantries feeding Kentuckyian
bright color to try to bolster
them and they actually
distribute to the dealer back
when exactly. So there's a

(20:19):
several his regional
organizations that basically
their hubs, they buy food, they
get commodities from the
government. Also and they
distribute them to all the
regional to these local food
banks. I mean, all these local
food banks, many of them around
and really been a small
operation. They have looked to
one staff member, right?
They feed hundreds of people
and it's because they get these
commodities from these regional
organizations. But they also

(20:39):
many of them have told me that
especially recently they've had
to buy a lot more food
themselves, just rely on local
donations. And today the
governor said what when it
comes to the Kentucky National
Guard and food banks? Well, I
was gonna pay really close
attention that the governor
said without a lot of details
yet that he's going to be
sending to
Kentucky guard in 2 food banks

(21:03):
to help out in some way.
I haven't heard necessarily
this call before from food
banks directly that they're
asking for that type of
assistance. But I'm I'm very
curious to see how that will
pan out. How that yeah, kind
of planned out. Yeah. We'll
have to wait Could become a
mentor for yeah. Back in to
tell us. Sylvia Goodman, thank
you for all the incredible work
you're doing. Giving us a few
minutes today. There are no

(21:26):
problem.
The government shutdown
directly affects federal
employees. They're placed on
temporary unpaid leave or have
to work without getting paid
until the shutdown is over.
>> There is a high
concentration of federal
workers at Fort Campbell who
provide essential services like
healthcare, air traffic control
and other support for our

(21:46):
military. Our more Rodgers
takes us to Christian County,
Kentucky. We're a resource fair
is underway to help soldiers
and civilians.
I'm extremely
>> concerned about the
challenges that families are
facing at this time in their
lives. You genius. Norton Davis

(22:06):
is a military spouse. Her
husband, retired from the U.S.
Army man so close and connected
to Fort Campbell and seeing
family
members, civilians furlough.
It's a concern he works as a
career coach for the West
Kentucky workforce board in
Hopkinsville taking part this
week and a resource fair for
the Fort Campbell community
are. Federal employees are
heard and they've been over a

(22:27):
month now.
>> 35 days since their last
paycheck for Campbell's
families are vital important to
our economy. There might be
important Christian County.
They're part of our fabric.
>> Officials say there are more
than 8,000 federal workers and
the Fort Campbell region that
offer support and maintenance
for military operations.
Our culture in our community

(22:49):
certainly values the military.
>> And values the commitment
that they sacrificed daily.
>> City and county officials
helped organize the resource
fair. A one-stop shop for the
military and civilian
communities to see what support
services are available to them
as they weather the government
shutdown.
>> Some of the federal
employees are the same ones
that year after year after
year. Give to a lot of the

(23:11):
organizations in here.
And now they're on the point to
where they have to receive some
of those same benefits that
they've been helping. Others
get.
>> Shannon Lanes as many
military families are facing
uncertainty over SNAP benefit.
>> Specially our junior
enlisted, they rely on SNAP
benefits just like anybody else
from our community. That's and
that low income bracket having
the uncertainty there, whether

(23:31):
they're going to have that
substance to be able to feed
their kids or to nurse their
growing babies under Belly's.
You know, that's not so true
concern and there's a lot of
people are dipping into their
savings right now. I've talked
to a few of them here in
Hopkinsville.
>> And they are dipping into
their savings. But thank headed
there. Dip into. But it won't
last forever. The resource fair

(23:53):
at dollar haul in Oak Grove
includes banks, utility
companies, nonprofits and other
groups potentially helpful for
those needing assistance for
making sure and ensuring that
they are aware of all the
resources that our agents is
able to provide. We have been
able to
>> speak with individuals today
that are seeking other career

(24:13):
opportunities or even maybe.
>> Trying to find out
information for family members
as well.
>> It's just one of several
events taking place to show
support for essential workers
at Fort Campbell.
>> We cooked pancakes at the
Blanchfield Army Community
Hospital at Fort Campbell for
almost 500 civilian employees.
Federal civilian employees
there that are being paid but
are still coming to work every
day to make sure that the

(24:33):
medical needs of our soldiers
are being taken care of.
>> This as leaders at the local
level hope the government
shutdown will soon be resolved.
The best outcome for this is
this thing will be over with
get Thanksgiving. Coming up
again, creates that concern
for food and security. So we
hope that it's over with
relatively quickly for Kentucky

(24:53):
edition.
>> I'm Laura Rogers.
>> Thank you, Laura. Feeding
America is also hosting a food
distribution event tomorrow in
Christian County, federal
workers can pick up a food box
at Oak Grove Gaming's
Equestrian center. Starting at
11 o'clock am local time.
We have more information
tonight after the death of
former Kentucky Governor Martha

(25:14):
Layne Collins, Governor Andy
Beshear says Governor Collins
will lie in state at the old
State Capitol Sunday with the
public able to pay its respects
from noon to 03:00PM Eastern
time, KET, he will have
coverage beginning at 04:00PM.
♪
♪

(25:40):
Kentucky EDITION continues to
follow developments after
yesterday's UPS plane crash
in Louisville. And we'll have
the newest information tomorrow
and beyond about the crash and
its aftermath. Also tomorrow,
our Kelsey Starks talks with
Louisville Metro Police Chief
Paul Humphrey about
Louisville's declining crime
rate and where the city goes
from here. All of that and more

(26:01):
tomorrow night Thursday on
Kentucky EDITION, which we hope
you'll join us for at 6.30,
Eastern 5.30, central where we
inform connect and inspire.
We hope that will connect with
us all the ways you see on your
screen, Facebook X and
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on the social media channels
and look for us on the PBS
video app that you can download
on your mobile device and other
smart devices. We thank you so

(26:22):
very much for watching tonight.
I'm Renee Shaw. Take really
good care and I'll see you
tomorrow night.
♪