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At least nine people have died and 11 left injured following a UPS cargo plane crashed during departure from a major air hub in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday night.

Aircraft specialists suggest the plane crashed after a single engine malfunctioned and a second seemed compromised during take-off.

It is unclear why the aircraft failed, prompting a huge explosion to ignite after it failed to take-off from the airstrip. Video evidence showed fire had already engulfed a single wing of the plane during its takeoff attempt, potentially spreading through the plane and triggered the blast, or the jet could have caught fire upon hitting an object on the ground.

What's clear is that the 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the MD-11 jet required for the journey probably intensified the fire, which quickly spread to multiple structures beyond the runway and continued burning for hours.

What initiated the incident?

UPS operates from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as a logistics center for its global operations and its designated flight was beginning of a 6,920 kilometer trip to Honolulu in Hawaii when the cargo plane attempted to take off.

Tracking information from flight monitoring services indicates the plane started moving along the 17R runway at around 5:15 PM local and managed to reach a top speed of 214mph.

However, confirmed videos shows that by the time the plane achieved this velocity a fire had completely engulfed its left wing and the plane couldn't climb before the enormous detonation.

Officials issued a local safety directive to local residents and scrambled numerous fire crews to the scene.

The state's governor verified details seen in CCTV footage that shows the aircraft flying just feet above the surface before a intense light consumed the aircraft. It is then observed crashing onto the terrain as a massive fire explosion ignites surrounding it about a minute into its journey.

Authenticated footage recorded by drivers on adjacent roads showed the flames erupting into the skyline while subsequent recordings revealed smoke pouring from the area.

Aerial images broadcast by local media depicted wreckage scattering across the airstrip and falling onto the tops of at least two local businesses.

Potential causes of the accident

Air traffic control communications reviewed are mostly unclear and full of interference so no meaningful conversation can be heard about the incident as it unfolded.

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

The trijet cargo aircraft employs three powerplants. Two are mounted under the wings, and a third is built into the tail at the bottom of the tail fin.

Footage confirmed showed a blaze engulfing the left wing of the aircraft, which then leaned leftward 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 mechanical or structural failure.

Separate images taken after the crash showed a burned powerplant resting on the grass adjacent to the airstrip.

A retired airline pilot and aircraft safety specialist said that it was "almost unheard of" for an powerplant to separate in flight.

He referenced the 1979 aviation disaster disaster, in which 273 individuals were killed after the aircraft's powerplant separated as it departed from O'Hare International Airport. Parts of the engine had been damaged when it was installed on the aircraft, but the expert stated it was too early to say whether a comparable issue led to the engine to detach on the trijet.

The specialist explained the freight aircraft would have been capable of flight with just two engines but the destruction resulting from the fire on the left wing was probably extensive enough it resulted in the plane's third engine to lose thrust.

"With such a catastrophic event we cannot know what other damage was caused when the engine came adrift," he said.

Another aviation expert observed the footage appeared to show the remaining powerplant had been compromised because it expelled a burst of smoke. The damage could have occurred while it was struck by wreckage from the fire and the powerplant separation.

"The upper engine that expelled a puff of smoke seems to shut down right after," the expert stated. "That left only the right engine generating power, creating a severe power imbalance and making the plane incapable to gain height.

"Failing two powerplants while departing results in only a third of its power and little chance of maintaining flight, particularly under full departure mass," the expert continued.

Why did the crash cause such damage?

Footage from the aftermath revealed a situation of total disorder with numerous blazes burning across a large swathe of the site and smoke billowing into the sky.

The aircraft, which was 34 years old and had been used as a passenger plane until 2006, had previously made one return journey from the Kentucky hub to the East Coast on the same day.

It has not been confirmed which goods was on board the flight bound for Hawaii, though officials stated the aircraft didn't contain anything that would pose an increased danger of contamination.

"This involved extended freight transport from Louisville to Honolulu, so the trijet was transporting a significant fuel quantity," an expert commented. "The substantial fuel quantity not only diminished capability but also accounts for the massive explosion seen after the crash."

Authorities informed media that the plane was carrying 38,000 gallons of fuel for the extended trip when it crashed. The fire was likely amplified on the ground because the plane crashed into a fuel processing facility adjacent to the airfield.

A specialist indicated investigators will now focus on how the initial fire began, and "whether debris struck the centre engine, and if previous repairs on the left engine played a role." He added: "Atmospheric conditions were favorable, so environmental factors are improbable."

The federal investigation agency has sent a team to the site and will take charge of the probe into the causes of the crash, though such inquiries may require years to finalize.