UPS cargo plane has near miss at airport where one of firm's jets crashed in fireball last year and killed 14

By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 04:06, 18 April 2026 | Updated: 04:06, 18 April 2026 A UPS cargo plane had to abort its landing in Louisville earlier this week when a small plane crossed the runway just as it approached. The air traffic controller yelled 'Skylab 25, stop!' at the small plane before quickly ordering the UPS plane to pull up and perform a maneuver called a go-around to avert another tragedy at Louisville International Airport, a major hub for UPS.  The Boeing 767, identified as UPS flight 1303, was arriving from Atlanta when it was ordered to perform abort its landing.  The incident comes only months after a UPS plane crashed after an engine fell off as it was rolling down the runway to take off.  The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Thursday that it plans to hold two days of investigative hearings starting May 19 to learn more about why the November crash that killed 14 people happened. Fortunately, no one was hurt in this latest incident, which happened about 12:10am on Tuesday. Right after the cargo plane safely pulled up, the controller asked 'Skylab 25, what are you doing?' The pilot responded 'Skylab 25, yeah, sorry about that.' The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. A UPS cargo plane was forced to abort landing after a small aircraft crossed the runway in Louisville (file photo) The near miss comes months after a deadly UPS crash at the same airport remains under investigation. 14 people were killed including three crew members when an engine fell off 'Following standard procedures, a UPS aircraft safely conducted a go-around during its approach at the direction of air traffic control. There was no operational impact,' UPS said in a statement  Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft descending to around 500ft before climbing back up to around 1,500ft.  Louisville's UPS Worldport is the company's largest package handling center in the world. The 5.2 million-square-foot hub serves as the center of UPS’ global air network.  In last November's accident, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 UPS cargo plane crashed after its engine fell off on takeoff. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have confirmed that the engine detached from the aircraft.  The plane was 34 years old and its fuel tank had been repaired last September, according to flight records.   Dramatic images which emerged online in the aftermath of the tragedy showed a fireball explosion, and what appeared to be the engine on the runway. A terrifying video shared to social media showed the aircraft attempting to take off with a ball of fire emanating from its left wing. Just moments later, the plane exploded. Dashcam footage also showed the plane crashing back into the runway, leaving a blaze in its wake. The UPS cargo plane which crashed and killed 11 people on Tuesday did so after its engine fell off during departure, officials have confirmed. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane exploded shortly after taking off from Kentucky's Muhammad Ali International Airport  What appears to be a plane engine is seen here lying on the runway following the crash Close calls like Tuesday's incident happen frequently. Last week, a Frontier Airlines jet nearly collided with two trucks that crossed in front of it as it was taxiing at slow speeds at Los Angeles International Airport.  In a separate incident earlier this week in Charlotte, North Carolina, an American Airlines pilot told the tower he had to slam on the brakes when a truck crossed in front of him on a taxiway. Last month, an Air Canada plane landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York smashed into a fire truck that had been cleared to cross the runway less than 20 seconds earlier.  Both pilots were killed and dozens were injured in that crash. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.