Louisville, Kentucky: One Year After UPS Flight 2976 Crash, City Rings 15 Bells for 15 Lives Lost

Louisville marked one year since the crash of UPS Flight 2976 on Wednesday morning, at a private memorial service for the 15 people who died on November 4, 2025. UPS hosted the service at the Okolona Fire Protection District station off Preston Highway, the Courier Journal reported. Firefighters from Okolona were among the first on the scene a year ago.

UPS representatives, the Independent Pilots Association, Mayor Craig Greenberg and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman spoke. "We gather this day to remember and honor the 15 people who lost their lives, and to stand with the families, loved ones, friends, and everyone in the community who continues to carry that loss," said Nick D'Andrea, a UPS senior vice president, in opening remarks quoted by the Courier Journal.

At the end of the service, 15 people, including elected officials, UPS representatives and community members, each rang a silver bell for one of the lives lost. A moment of silence followed.

What happened a year ago

Flight 2976, an MD-11 cargo plane, took off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport bound for Hawaii. Shortly after takeoff, one of its engines separated from the aircraft, and the plane crashed near Grade Lane. The three-person UPS Airlines crew was killed, and 12 people on the ground died, the Courier Journal reported. WDRB and WAVE reported that the 12 were four Grade A Auto Parts employees and eight customers, and that 23 other people were injured. It was the deadliest crash in UPS Airlines history.

The pilots were Capt. Richard Wartenberg, the pilot in command, who spent 22 years in the Air Force and lived in Independence, Kentucky; First Officer Lee Truitt, 45, a father of three who was at the controls and had flown for UPS since 2021; and Capt. Dana Diamond, the international relief officer, who had been with the company for 37 years and was nearing retirement, WDRB and WAVE reported.

The city remembers together

The morning service is only part of the day. The citywide observance, called Louisville Remembers Together, asks churches and other institutions to ring bells and carillons for one minute at 5:14 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by one minute of silence at 5:15 p.m. A public memorial event begins at 4:30 p.m. at Grade A Auto Parts, 4568 Melton Avenue. Metro Hall, the Big Four Bridge and the twin spires at Churchill Downs will be lit yellow in the evening, and residents are invited to wear yellow or light their homes yellow.

"Over the past year, this community has shown the strength of standing together through unimaginable loss," UPS Airlines President Bill Moore said at the service, in remarks quoted by the Courier Journal. Bob Travis, the president of the UPS pilots union, said the flying community hopes the investigation "brings not only answers and some measure of closure, but also real recommendations for change."

One year on, those answers have not come. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating and has not given a date for its final report, the Courier Journal reported. WDRB and WAVE reported that the board held a two-day preliminary hearing in May with the FAA, UPS, Boeing and the pilots association, and that a final report is expected at some point within the next year.