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No fewer than nine individuals lost their lives and 11 left injured following a freight aircraft crashed during departure from an international airport in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday evening.

Aircraft specialists suggest the plane crashed due to one engine failed and a second seemed compromised during take-off.

The exact cause remains unknown what caused the plane to crash, leading to a massive fireball to ignite after it couldn't become airborne from the runway. Footage showed fire had already engulfed one wing of the plane during its takeoff attempt, which may have spread through the plane and caused the explosion, or the plane might have ignited upon hitting ground-based obstacles.

What's clear is that the 38,000 gallons of jet fuel aboard the MD-11 jet needed for the flight likely escalated the blaze, which quickly spread to multiple structures past the airstrip and continued burning for hours.

What initiated the incident?

UPS uses the Louisville air hub as a logistics center for its worldwide network and its Flight 2976 was beginning of a 6,920 kilometer trip to Honolulu in Hawaii when the freight aircraft initiated departure.

Data from flight monitoring services shows the plane started moving along the designated runway at around 5:15 PM local and attained a maximum velocity of 214mph.

However, confirmed videos demonstrate that when the plane achieved this velocity a fire had completely engulfed its port side and the plane couldn't climb before the massive explosion.

Officials activated a shelter-in-place order to area inhabitants and scrambled numerous fire crews to the location.

Governor Andy Beshear confirmed details seen in CCTV footage that shows the plane traveling just feet above the surface before a bright flash consumed the aircraft. It is then observed crashing onto the terrain as a massive fire explosion erupts around it about a minute after departure.

Authenticated footage recorded by motorists on a nearby highway displayed the flames erupting into the skyline while later videos showed smoke billowing from the scene.

Aerial images broadcast by local media showed debris showering the runway and landing on the tops of multiple nearby establishments.

Potential causes of the accident

ATC transmissions reviewed are mostly unclear and filled with static so no meaningful conversation can be heard about the crash as it unfolded.

But analysts proposed that a dramatic failure of two of the engines may have been responsible for the disaster.

The MD-11 transport plane uses three powerplants. Two are installed under the airfoils, and a third is positioned in the tail at the base of the vertical stabilizer.

Video verified revealed a blaze engulfing the left wing of the plane, which then tilted to the left as it tried to achieve altitude and take-off.

Two experts separately proposed the left engine may have separated from the plane after suffering from a technical or physical breakdown.

Additional photographs captured post-accident displayed a charred engine resting on the turf adjacent to the airstrip.

A retired airline pilot and aircraft safety specialist commented that it was "extremely rare" for an engine to detach during operation.

The expert recalled the 1979 American Airlines Flight 191 disaster, in which 273 individuals were fatally injured when the aircraft's powerplant separated as it took off from O'Hare International Airport. Parts of the engine had been damaged when it was installed on the aircraft, but the specialist stated it was too early to say whether a comparable issue caused the powerplant separation on the MD-11.

The specialist explained the cargo plane would have been able to fly with just two engines but the damage caused by the fire on the left wing was likely so great it caused the plane's third engine to lose thrust.

"Given the severe nature of the incident we cannot know what other damage was caused when the engine came adrift," he said.

Another aviation expert said the footage appeared to show the third engine had been damaged because it released smoke. The issue could have occurred while it was struck by wreckage from the blaze and the powerplant separation.

"The tail-mounted powerplant that released smoke appears to wind down almost immediately afterwards," the specialist said. "This left just the starboard powerplant producing thrust, resulting in a severe power imbalance and making the plane incapable to gain height.

"Failing two powerplants during take-off results in only a third of its power and minimal opportunity of staying airborne, especially at maximum take-off weight," the specialist continued.

Why did the crash cause such damage?

Post-accident videos showed a scene of complete chaos with numerous blazes burning across a large swathe of the location and smoke rising upward.

The aircraft, which was 34 years old and had been used as a passenger plane before conversion, had previously made one return journey from the Kentucky hub to the East Coast on Tuesday.

Authorities haven't verified which goods was aboard the Hawaii-bound aircraft, though officials stated the plane was not carrying anything that would pose an increased danger of environmental hazard.

"This was a long-haul cargo flight from Louisville to Honolulu, so the MD-11 was carrying a lot of jet fuel," a specialist said. "The substantial fuel quantity not only reduced performance but also explains the massive explosion observed post-accident."

Officials told reporters that the plane was transporting 144,000 litres of fuel for the extended trip when it went down. The blaze was likely amplified on the surface because the aircraft slammed into a fuel processing facility adjacent to the airfield.

The expert said investigators will now focus on the origin of the blaze, and "whether debris struck the centre engine, and whether earlier maintenance on the portside powerplant were a factor." He added: "Weather conditions were calm and clear, so weather-related causes are unlikely."

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to the location and will now lead the probe into the causes of the crash, though such inquiries may require years to complete.