At least 12 dead after UPS plane crash; travelers returning to Louisville airport react to tragedy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport reopened to flyers on Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed during takeoff on Tuesday, killing at least 12 and injuring more than a dozen others.

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Travelers told News Center 7 that there was a difference in how the airport looked on Wednesday.

>> PHOTOS: Fiery plane crash near Louisville airport sends plumes of smoke into air

“The airport this morning is very empty. I haven’t seen this airport like this before,” Andrew Nankwenya, of Louisville, said.

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Travelers like Nankwenya also spoke on how it felt to be back in the airport after the crash.

“The tragedy that happened yesterday, as a Kentuckian, we were really touched about that,” he said. “It is so sad that that happened.”

Tuesday’s deadly crash led to cancellations across the board.

One woman, who didn’t want to be on camera, told News Center 7’s John Bedell that after her original flight on Tuesday was nixed, she slept in the airport. She woke up in the terminal on Wednesday, ready to catch a rescheduled flight.

Nankwenya’s connecting flight to Chicago was pushed back a few hours. It was one of several flights he had to catch to start his international trip to Africa.

As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, he knows the slight inconvenience he’s seeing is nothing like what so many are now suffering.

“(I) feel so sorry for their families,” Nankwenya said. “I know those guys had families and all that. It’s (a) tough situation, you know?”

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