There was a fire in the UPS plane's left wing and the engine "detached" during takeoff from Louisville International Airport in Kentucky, the NTSB official said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A UPS cargo plane’s left wing caught fire and an engine fell off just before it crashed and exploded after takeoff in Kentucky, a federal investigator said Wednesday, offering the first official details about a disaster that killed at least 11 people.

A UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after take-off from Louisville Airport on 4 November, killing at least seven people and injuring 11 others on the ground.

Video of the deadly Louisville, Kentucky, crash showed flames on one of the plane's wings and a huge fireball erupting as the aircraft hit the ground.

At least nine people have died and 11 left injured after a UPS cargo plane crashed while taking off from an international airport in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday evening. Aviation experts who spoke to BBC Verify believe the plane crashed after one engine failed and another appeared to be damaged during take-off.

"Looking at this MD-11 UPS crash , this is some of the most terrifying and sad footages I have seen," Ahmed Baokbah told Newsweek.

"Anybody who has seen the images in the video knows how violent this crash is," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news conference on Nov. 4.

A UPS cargo plane caught fire while struggling to take off from the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4

The UPS freighter that crashed in Louisville was a 34-year old jet. While that’s old for a passenger plane, that’s not so unusual in the world of air cargo.