Louisville Air Cargo Injuries & Wrongful Death: What Families Need to Know (UPS Worldport at SDF)

Louisville is one of the world’s busiest cargo hubs—home to UPS Worldport at SDF (Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport). With 300+ flights a day and millions of packages sorted, serious incidents are rare but devastating. This guide explains what happens after an air-cargo crash or ramp incident in Louisville, who can be liable, the evidence that disappears first, and how our team helps families navigate both the investigation and the civil claim.

Why Louisville (& Worldport) matters to your case

• Top-5 global cargo airport and #3 in North America by freight volume.

• UPS Worldport handles ~2 million packages/day and runs 300–360 flights daily; it employs ~20,000 locally.

The scale affects jurisdiction, evidence sources, and the number of potential defendants—from the airline to ground-service vendors.

What happens first: NTSB/FAA vs. your civil case

Federal investigation (safety fact-finding)

• NTSB leads aviation accident investigations; procedures are set in 49 CFR Part 831. The Board gathers facts, determines probable cause, and later releases a public docket (reports, data, exhibits).

• CVR/FDR (cockpit voice & flight data recorders) are secured and analyzed by NTSB specialists; families don’t “request” these directly.

• FAA (Air Traffic Organization) preserves ATC records and supports NTSB under FAA Order JO 8020.16E. ATC audio/radar releases follow FAA processes.

Your civil claim (accountability & compensation)

While NTSB determines why, a civil case determines who pays under Kentucky and federal law. The two tracks run in parallel: we protect deadlines and evidence now, then incorporate NTSB docket materials when they post.

Who can be liable in an air-cargo or ramp case?

• The air carrier (Part 121 all-cargo operator). UPS and other cargo airlines operate under 14 CFR Part 121 safety rules (crew duty, maintenance, ops). Breaches can ground liability theories.

• Maintenance & repair organizations (aircraft, engine, or GSE maintenance).

• Ground-service vendors (ramp/tug/belt-loader crews, deicing, fueling) and their employers. Louisville ramp operators increasingly use video + telematics systems that create recoverable data.

• Manufacturers (aircraft, components, or GSE like tugs/belt-loaders).

• Airport/authority (premises or operations issues within the Louisville Regional Airport Authority footprint), depending on facts and immunity defenses.

Week-one evidence to preserve (rapid-response checklist)

Even before NTSB publishes anything, we send targeted preservation letters to keep short-retention data from being overwritten:

Aviation/ATC

• ATC audio and radar/track data for the event window (requested via FAA channels; we reference FAA Order JO 8020.16E and the NAS data release process).

• Airport operations logs/CCTV (SDF Operations Center monitors airfield/facilities—ask for camera IDs, retention, and exports).

Carrier

• Ops & maintenance: dispatch/weight-and-balance, MEL/CDL, maintenance releases, minimum equipment status, prior squawks.

• Crew: training/qualification, duty & rest compliance (Part 121 subparts), fatigue risk documents.

Ramp/Ground operations

• Vehicle telematics & video from tugs, belt loaders, fuel/deice trucks; location breadcrumbs, speed, impacts, operator logins (common with Lytx/Samsara-type systems).

• GSE inspection/maintenance records and pre/post-shift checklists.

External sources

• KSP/airport police reports, 911/CAD.

• KYTC traffic cameras near perimeter roads (images rotate; request promptly).

We also track when the NTSB docket opens so we can harvest factual reports, performance studies, and exhibits for the civil case.

Damages in Kentucky air-cargo injury & wrongful-death cases

• Economic losses: medical bills, lost wages/benefits, and—in death—destruction of earning power (wrongful-death measure) plus survival damages for pre-death pain/medical.

• Non-economic harms: pain and suffering; loss of consortium where applicable.

• Punitive damages: possible for willful/gross negligence. (We harmonize Kentucky remedies with any applicable federal preemption defenses.)

How Morrin Law Office helps Louisville families

1. Immediate preservation to the carrier, vendors, the airport authority, and FAA/NTSB liaisons—so ATC audio, ramp video, and telematics are not lost.

2. Parallel tracks: we prosecute the civil claim while monitoring the NTSB investigation; once the docket releases, we fold in the technical evidence.

3. Vendor mapping at Worldport: we identify each ground-handling, fueling, maintenance, and security contractor actually on the ramp that day.

4. Local knowledge: SDF’s cargo scale and Worldport ops shape venue, witnesses, and evidence retention.

5. No upfront fees — free consult; contingency fee (we’re paid only if we recover).

Place a bold Contact CTA with your phone and consult form. Add internal links to Wrongful Death (KY) and Evidence pages.

FAQs

Is UPS (or another cargo airline) under the same rules as passenger airlines?

Largely yes—Part 121 governs both passenger and all-cargo air carriers, with cargo-specific subparts (e.g., flight-time/rest for supplemental all-cargo).

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Can families get the “black box” data?

NTSB controls CVR/FDR access during the investigation and later posts docket materials. We rely on those releases and parallel sources (ATC, ops, maintenance, ramp video).

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Do ramp vehicles have useful data?

Yes. Many tugs/loaders run video-telematics (location, speed, impacts, camera clips). We request native exports from providers (e.g., Lytx/Samsara).

References & Further Reading

• Louisville cargo scale: SDF Top-5 globally / #3 North America by ACI. flylouisville.com+1

• Worldport scope & flights/day: package volume, employment, 300–360 flights/day (recent reporting). AP News+1

• Part 121 (all-cargo operations framework): eCFR, Part 121 overview; all-cargo flight-time/rest subpart. eCFR+1

• NTSB procedures & recorders: 49 CFR Part 831; NTSB CVR/FDR page. eCFR+1

• FAA ATC/accident coordination & NAS data: FAA Order JO 8020.16E; FAA NAS data-release FAQ. Federal Aviation Administration+1

• Airport authority context: Louisville Regional Airport Authority (SDF/LOU). flylouisville.com

• GSE telematics/video examples: Samsara case page (Swissport airport safety); industry telematics resources. samsara.com+1