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No fewer than nine people have died and 11 others were hurt following a freight aircraft went down while taking off from an international airport in Kentucky's largest city on Tuesday night.

Aviation experts believe the plane crashed due to one engine failed and another appeared to be damaged while lifting off.

The exact cause remains unknown what caused the plane to crash, leading to a huge explosion to ignite after it couldn't become airborne from the airstrip. Footage showed fire had already engulfed one wing of the plane while it was attempting to take off, potentially spreading across the aircraft and triggered the blast, or the plane might have ignited after colliding with an object on the ground.

What's clear is that the 38,000 gallons of fuel aboard the trijet aircraft needed for the flight likely escalated the fire, which rapidly extended to multiple structures past the airstrip and burned for hours.

How did it start?

The shipping giant uses Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as a logistics center for its worldwide network and its designated flight was at the start of a 4,300 mile trip to Hawaii's capital when the freight aircraft initiated departure.

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

But verified footage demonstrate that when the plane reached this speed a fire had completely engulfed its left wing and the aircraft failed to gain altitude before the massive explosion.

Authorities activated a local safety directive to area inhabitants and scrambled numerous fire crews to the scene.

Governor Andy Beshear confirmed particulars visible in security camera recordings that depict the aircraft flying just feet above the surface before a intense light engulfed the plane. It is then observed crashing onto the terrain as a massive fire explosion ignites surrounding it about a minute after departure.

A verified clip taken by drivers on adjacent roads displayed the flames erupting into the skyline while subsequent recordings showed smoke billowing from the scene.

Aerial images broadcast by local media depicted debris showering the runway and falling onto the tops of at least two local businesses.

Potential causes of the accident

Air traffic control communications reviewed are largely garbled and full of interference so no meaningful conversation can be discerned about the incident as it developed.

However, experts proposed that a dramatic failure of two of the engines may have been responsible for the disaster.

The trijet cargo aircraft uses three powerplants. Two are installed under the wings, and a third is positioned in the rear section at the bottom of the tail fin.

Footage confirmed revealed a blaze engulfing the left wing of the plane, which then tilted to the left as it attempted to gain lift and become airborne.

Multiple specialists independently suggested the portside engine may have detached from the plane after suffering from a technical or physical breakdown.

Additional photographs taken after the crash showed a burned powerplant sitting on the turf next to the runway.

An experienced former aviator and aircraft safety specialist said that it was "extremely rare" for an engine to detach in flight.

The expert recalled the 1979 aviation disaster disaster, in which 273 individuals were fatally injured after the plane's engine detached as it took off from O'Hare International Airport. Parts of the engine had been compromised when it was installed on the aircraft, but the expert stated it was premature to determine whether a comparable issue led to the powerplant separation on the trijet.

The expert explained the freight aircraft would have been capable of flight with only two powerplants but the destruction resulting from the wing blaze was likely so great it caused the plane's third engine to lose thrust.

"Given the severe nature of the incident we cannot determine what other damage was done when the powerplant separated," the expert commented.

A different aircraft specialist said the footage appeared to show the remaining powerplant had been damaged because it released smoke. The damage could have happened while it was struck by wreckage from the blaze and the powerplant separation.

"The tail-mounted powerplant that released smoke seems to shut down almost immediately afterwards," the expert stated. "This left just the starboard powerplant producing thrust, resulting in a significant thrust asymmetry and leaving the aircraft unable to gain height.

"Losing two engines while departing leaves the aircraft with only a fraction of its thrust and minimal opportunity of maintaining flight, particularly under maximum take-off weight," the specialist added.

Why did the crash cause such damage?

Footage from the aftermath revealed a situation of total disorder with numerous blazes blazing across a extensive area of the location and smoke rising upward.

The plane, which was 34 years old and had been used as a passenger plane before conversion, had previously made one round trip from the Kentucky hub to the East Coast on the same day.

It has not been confirmed what cargo was aboard the Hawaii-bound aircraft, though officials said the plane was not carrying anything that would create a heightened risk of environmental hazard.

"This involved extended freight transport from Louisville to Honolulu, so the MD-11 was transporting a significant fuel quantity," an expert said. "That heavy fuel load not only diminished capability but also explains the large fireball seen after the crash."

Officials told reporters that the plane was carrying 38,000 gallons of fuel for the long journey when it went down. The fire was probably intensified on the surface because the aircraft slammed into a fuel processing facility next to the airport.

The expert indicated authorities will concentrate on how the initial fire began, and "whether debris struck the central powerplant, and if previous repairs on the left engine were a factor." He added: "Weather conditions were calm and clear, so environmental factors are improbable."

The federal investigation agency has sent a team to the location and will now lead the probe into the accident's origins, though this can take up to two years to complete.