Local News
Wife of UPS Pilot Recounts Terrifying Moments After Louisville Plane Crash: “I Thought I Lost Him”
A woman who identified herself as the wife of a UPS pilot shared an emotional account of the moments following the fatal crash of UPS Flight 2976 near Louisville, Kentucky.
Speaking to a local news anchor, she revealed that her husband had been scheduled to depart Louisville around the same time as the doomed flight and that she had not received any communication from him since the incident—leaving her fearing the worst as authorities worked to identify the victims.
In a heartfelt written statement, she described the shock, fear, and helplessness she experienced as news of the crash broke:
“Your husband flies, right? Is he flying this week?”
What an odd text from my friend, I thought, as I drove my kids home from their sports activities.
“Yes,” I replied. “He’s flying right now, actually. Took off from Louisville just a short time ago.”
Then silence.
Moments later, a breaking news alert appeared on her phone — a UPS cargo plane had crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville, with reports of multiple casualties.
“I knew from her text that she already knew something terrible had happened. For the next what felt like eternity, my heart was in my throat. My hands were shaking. I was sobbing. I thought I lost him. He’s the rock of our family — our everything. And I kept thinking, have I ever actually told him that? Why didn’t I tell him again as he left the house today?”
As panic set in, she pulled her car over with her children inside.
“Hey guys, Mommy doesn’t feel good. I just need a minute,” she told them.
Her husband’s last message, sent at 4:41 p.m., simply read: “I love you, getting ready to take off.”
“I sat there staring at that text, trying to line up when the crash happened. Not a lot of time between. Was it him? Why hasn’t he messaged me yet?” she wrote.
“Babe, can you please message me? Just need to know you’re okay,” she texted again.
As the minutes dragged on, friends and family flooded her phone with worried messages: “You okay? He’s okay, right? You’ve heard from him?”
“No. I don’t know. I can’t get ahold of him,” she recalled. “My mind was in a million places. What if that plane was his? What if his plans changed? What if?”
She replayed her last message to him — a trivial complaint about one of their children — and felt deep regret.
“Why did I waste time with that? Why didn’t I just say, ‘I love you’? I prayed. I cried. For myself, yes, but for others too. This is someone’s life — many people’s lives.”
Then came the moment that broke her: video of the crash.
“A massive fireball. Unsurvivable. Still not knowing if that’s him. I felt sick. All our plans, our sweet children, everything we’re building together — flashing before my eyes.”
She remembered her daughter’s words from just two days earlier:
“Daddy makes everything better, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” she wrote. “He does.”
After what felt like hours, she finally received the message she had been praying for: her husband had landed safely several states away.
“It wasn’t him. I could finally breathe,” she said. “But it was his colleagues.”
Her relief was mixed with profound grief for the families who would not receive that same message.
“Relief for me, yes. But this is someone’s entire world — someone’s parent, someone’s soulmate, someone’s child. Someone’s person who makes everything better. My heart breaks for them all.”
She closed her statement with a message of reflection and gratitude:
“I’m praying for the families of the at least nine souls lost — people who just went to work, kissed their loved ones goodbye, and that was it. It could be any of us. Events like this put everything in perspective. None of us is promised tomorrow. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them, that you adore them, and that they’re your everything. Nine families don’t get that chance tonight.”
Her words capture the human toll behind the tragedy, offering a deeply personal glimpse into the fear, uncertainty, and heartbreak faced by those waiting for news in the aftermath of the Louisville UPS plane crash.
Local News
Suspended Dearborn Ford worker Thomas Sabula received more than $320K after Trump flips him off
DEARBORN, Mich. — A suspended Ford Motor Company employee has become the focus of national attention after a confrontation with former President Donald Trump during a visit to a Dearborn assembly plant, prompting an outpouring of public support that has raised more than $324,000 for his family through an online fundraiser.
The worker, Thomas “TJ” Sabula, a 40-year-old United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 600 member, was placed on suspension pending an internal investigation following an exchange that occurred while Trump was touring the facility.
According to video later obtained and published by TMZ, an off-camera voice can be heard shouting “pedophile protector” at the former president, an apparent reference to the administration’s handling of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
In the footage, Trump appears to mouth an expletive and make a hand gesture before walking away.
The Washington Post subsequently identified Sabula as the individual who made the remark.
In an interview with the newspaper, Sabula confirmed that he was suspended after the incident and said he believes the action amounts to political retaliation.
“As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” Sabula told The Post. “But I am concerned about my job. I believe I’ve been targeted for political retribution for embarrassing him in front of his friends.”
Sabula, who describes himself as politically independent, said he has never voted for Trump, though he has supported Republican candidates in the past.
In the days following the incident, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist Sabula and his family during his suspension.
The campaign states that Sabula is “a father of two young children, a husband, and a proud UAW Local 600 line worker,” and that the funds will be used to help cover household and living expenses “during this time of uncertainty.” Donations quickly surged past $100,000, with notable contributions reportedly made by the rock band Dropkick Murphys.
Supporters have characterized Sabula’s actions as a form of protest and free expression, while others have questioned whether his conduct violated workplace policies.
Ford Motor Company and union representatives have not publicly released details regarding the status of the internal investigation or whether disciplinary action beyond the suspension is being considered.
Following his visit to the Dearborn plant, Trump went on to deliver remarks at the Detroit Economic Club, where he had last spoken in October 2024.
The incident continues to draw attention amid broader political debate, as questions remain about workplace discipline, free speech, and the role of political expression in employment settings.