A UPS cargo plane aborted its landing Tuesday morning at a Kentucky airport to avoid another aircraft on the runway, marking a close call at the same location where a deadly crash occurred months earlier.
The incident happened at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport when a Boeing 767, operating as UPS Flight 1303 from Atlanta, was instructed to perform a go-around during its approach.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic control directed the maneuver after a smaller aircraft entered the runway without authorization. Officials said the required separation between the two aircraft was maintained.
Audio from the exchange captured a controller urgently instructing the smaller aircraft, identified as Skylab 25, to stop before telling the UPS jet to go around.
UPS confirmed the aircraft safely executed the maneuver, noting it followed standard procedures. The company said there was no operational impact and no injuries reported.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft descending to about 500 feet before climbing back to roughly 1,500 feet shortly after.
The near miss comes months after a fatal crash at the same airport. In November 2025, a UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 15 people, including crew members and individuals on the ground. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft’s left engine separated and caught fire, contributing to the crash.
Following that incident, UPS grounded its MD-11 fleet, and the FAA ordered inspections and repairs for the aircraft model.
In a separate event, a small propeller plane made an emergency landing in a field near Blue Grass Airport on Thursday. Both people onboard were not injured.
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