Kentucky officials on Wednesday named the 14 victims who died in the UPS cargo plane crash last week.
The victims include: Capt. Dana Diamond, 62; Capt. Richard Wartenberg, 57; First Officer Lee Truitt, 45; Angela Anderson, 45; Carlos Fernandez, 52; Trinadette “Trina” Chavez, 37; Tony Crain, 65; John Loucks, 52; John Spray, 45; Matthew Sweets, 37; Ella Petty Whorton, 31; Megan Washburn, 35; Louisnes Fedon, 47; and his 3-year-old granddaughter Kimberly Asa.
UPS had previously identified Wartenberg, Truitt and Diamond, as pilots for its company. Sean Garber, who owns one of the businesses struck by the explosion, Grade A Auto Parts and Scrap Metal Recycling, said the other victims were either customers or employees of his business.
"Our city feels the full weight of this unimaginable tragedy,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a press conference. “Behind every one of these names is a circle of family, friends, stories that will forever be unfinished."
Greenberg added that officials do not believe any other people died in the crash, which happened just outside of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
He said that the victims were identified by DNA, medical records and dental records, and that testing was completed less than 24 hours ago. He added that all of the family members had been notified.
"I hope that with this certainty, their grieving can continue and turn to healing, and that they can begin to find ways to move forward, to recover from this trauma and find joy and happiness in life once again, knowing it will be never be the same without their loved one," Greenberg said.
Jefferson County Coroner Jo-Ann Farmer said at the press conference that "there's almost a sense of relief" among officials and the families that all of the bodies have been accounted for.
"I had a family member ask me yesterday 'how do you ever get used to this? And I said 'I don't,'" she said. "If I get used to this and it doesn't bother me, I'm in the wrong profession."
The crash occurred on Nov. 4 after the left engine of plane caught fire during takeoff and immediately detached, according to officials. The plane was set to fly to Honolulu.
Video of the crash posted on social media appears to show the aircraft ablaze in the moments before it crashed into an industrial area just south of the airport, obliterating a series of buildings. The plane had around 38,000 gallons of fuel on board, according to officials. Satellite images show the debris field from the explosion extending more than a half-mile.
On Thursday, hundreds of people gathered on the lawn of Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville to remember the lives lost in the crash.
Lee Florexile, a friend of one of the deceased, Fedon, said his friend would often pick up his granddaughter from daycare. Fedon stopped by the Grade A to get some things on Tuesday, Florexile said.
"He forgets about himself just to take care of other people," Florexile said. "That’s the kind of guy he is. He’s like an angel on earth."
Tanya Florexile, who was at the Thursday vigil, said she considered Fedon to be a member of her family. She described him as "gentle" and "stern."
"If we couldn’t get our kids to do something, he definitely could," she said.
UPS and FedEx grounded their fleets of the plane's model, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, in the days following the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration also called for an inspection of all such aircraft.
The crash occurred in the middle of the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shot down concerns that the crash was related to the shutdown.
UPS is the largest employer in Louisville, with the company employing more than 25,000 of its employees based in the area. The company's website sites Louisville airport as "the centerpiece of the company’s global air network," with roughly 400 of its flights arriving and departing the airport each day.
The last time a UPS plane crashed was in 2013 near Birmingham, Alabama, killing two pilots.
Greenberg urged people affected by the crash to call a new hotline set up by officials: 502-473-5271.
"As we hear these names today, let’s never forget their lives, their laughter, their love and all that they meant to those around them and to our entire city," he said.
