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(NEW YORK) — A slew of new civil lawsuits allege UPS and its partners failed their responsibility to make sure a plane they put in the air was safe to fly — and that negligence led to the fiery, fatal plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, last year that claimed the lives of 15 people.

The complaints allege the plane was faulty, the risks were known and yet it left the ground on a nonstop trip to Honolulu on Nov. 4, 2025 anyway.

The lawsuits — 15 in total — were filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of more than 100 survivors and victims of the crash as well as impacted businesses.

The lawsuits, which include several wrongful death claims, name a lengthy list of defendants, including UPS, Boeing, GE, Allianz insurance and the company that performed maintenance and repair on the plane.

Also named as a defendant: the estate of one of the plane’s pilots — Capt. Richard Wartenburg, who perished in the crash — who the lawsuits claim was “directly responsible for determining whether” the plane “was in a condition for safe flight.”

The lawsuits claim the defendants let a “catastrophic failure” occur.

In a statement, UPS said in a statement, “We remain deeply saddened by Flight 2976. Our focus continues to be on supporting those affected and working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board as the investigation continues.”

In a statement, Boeing said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this accident.”​

‘Huge ball of fire coming straight for us’
The new allegations come just on the heels of the crash’s six-month anniversary.

The UPS jet — a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 — lost its left engine and pylon shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport last November, crashing just seconds into the flight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Exploding in a fireball, it slammed into an area scrapyard, Grade A Recycling.

“I wake up every day and have to kind of relive it and bring myself back to reality,” said Ashley Muse, who was there that day, and is a plaintiff in one of the suits.

“All you could see was a huge ball of fire coming straight for us, and everyone started screaming and running, and within seconds, it hit us, the whole building shook like we were in an earthquake,” Muse told ABC News in an exclusive interview. 

Muse said she was saved by a colleague who later died. Her colleague Adam Bowman, who is a plaintiff in one of the suits, also jumped into action — saying he pulled one victim out of the inferno, who later passed away from his injuries.

“I turned my head, all I saw was a massive fireball,” Bowman said. “It started getting really hot, and thinking, I love my job, but I don’t want to die here.”

The lawsuit alleges the defendants, including UPS, the pilot, Boeing and others “negligently allowed” the aircraft “to be dispatched in an unsafe and an unairworthy condition resulting in the departure of the left pylon and engine from the wing causing the crash.”

They “accepted the risk of an MD-11 crash by continuing to utilize the aircraft type without more frequent and rigorous inspections of the pylon assemblies,” the filings said.

“People made decisions, corporations made decisions, to continue to operate these planes,” said attorney Masten Childers III, who is representing the plaintiffs.

Childers said in this case, UPS and the other defendants “took those risks, and those risks came to a head on Nov. 4 … when this plane fell out of the air on top of our clients.”

“More could have and should have been done to ensure that those problems were remedied so things like what happened on the 4th didnt happen,” Childers said.  

‘It happened out of the blue’
One of those deaths was 3-year-old Kimberly Asa, who was with her grandfather Louisnes Fedon at Grade A Recycling on the day of the crash.

Left behind — Kimberly’s mother, and Louisnes’ daughter.

“My dad was a really good person. My daughter, she was also a very bubbly person. I expected to watch her grow. I expected to always be able to run to my dad. So, the biggest thing is how it happened out of the blue,” Sherline Fedon said. “It’s not something that you hear about — when I finally saw a plane had hit, I don’t think anybody would have ever thought that it was their family. That’s something that you see on the news, and never think that you would be a part of it, or someone that you love to be a part of that. So I think what sticks with me the most is how random, and unheard of, it feels to me.” 

Kimberly “survived the initial impact” and “attempted to flee to safety from the explosion of nearly 220,000 pounds of jet fuel, seeking shelter from the smothering smoke and intense flames under a partially collapsed structure,” the documents alleging their wrongful deaths stated.

Their autopsies indicated that their deaths were not quick, according to the lawsuits.

Kimberly “suffered from excessive smoke inhalation resulting in soot in her airway, charring of all of her body surfaces and heat related fractures to her skull, left ribs and both arms,” according to the filings. Her cause of death was determined to be “smoke inhalation and thermal injuries resulting from the crash, explosion and subsequent fire” of the plane.

Her grandfather Louisnes also “survived the initial impact” and tried to flee with Kimberly, according to the filing. His “autopsy indicates that he suffered baking of his brain and right lung from the exposure to extreme temperature.” His cause of death was determined as “carbon monoxide intoxication, smoke inhalation and thermal injuries” from the crash and fire.

‘Known structural defects’
After the crash, federal investigators focused on metal fatigue cracks around the engine of the UPS plane that crashed on Nov. 4.

The lawsuits now home in on those cracks — alleging that overstress fracture and failure of the pylon assembly “significantly contributed to the crash.”

The lawsuits allege there were “known structural defects” with the MD-11F fleet of aircraft, citing a 2011 “service letter” issued by Boeing.

That letter informed operators of the MD-11 aircraft, including UPS, of the risk of bearing race failures, according to the lawsuits, which allege that despite that Boeing “did not alter the inspection interval for MD-11 spherical bearings and bearing races.”

The lawsuits also allege Boeing “failed to provide adequate warning of the defective condition of the MD-11 and failed to provide a reasonably safer alternative.”

Given what it called the “known risk” of the some of the plane’s alleged defects, UPS and the other defendants “knew or shoud have known that the assembly required more frequent inspection(s),” the lawsuit stated, alleging that the cost of such inspections would have made that plane model “inefficient for operation from a cost perspective.”

Regarding the actions of the pilot, the lawsuits argue Captain Wartenburg also had a duty to make sure his plane was safe to fly. Upon takeoff roll and rotation on the flight, a “repeated bell was sounding in the cockpit” but he “failed to act appropriately when presented with this alarm bell and failed to prevent the crash,” the lawsuits allege.

UPS pilots, including Wartenberg, knew this plane and type “as a problem aircraft with multiple defects but Defendant Wartenberg and the UPS Defendants, jointly and severally, elected to operate N259UP anyway,” the lawsuits claim.

In addition to those killed in the crash, others suffered “physical and psychological injuries,” and businesses suffered financial loss and damage from the crash, according to the lawsuits.

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South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace says she has obtained records through a congressional subpoena that reveal the value of several confidential sexual misconduct and harassment settlements struck on behalf of members of Congress and paid at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer totaling more than $338,000 over a 10-year run — while a letter to the House Oversight Committee shows that many additional records on the subject have been destroyed.

Mace shared the names of eight former members and the office of one former member shortly after obtaining the documents on Monday. 

None of the former members shared by Mace still hold public office anywhere, but the underlying disclosure offers a glimpse into the legislative branch’s recent history addressing sexual harassment.

In a post on X, Mace — a member of the House Oversight Committee — first posted a picture of a binder she says contained more than 1,000 pages of records from the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights beginning in 2007 and stretching into 2017.

The settlements are paid by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights Section 415 fund, which is authorized by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.

Among those named by Mace are former Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and former Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., and former Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., who both passed away shortly after leaving Congress.

Mace listed a settlement of $8,000 in 2009 for the office of McCarthy, who is alleged to have been aware of and conducted mistreatment related to a consensual sexual relationship between an aide and a senior staffer. She also faced allegations of discrimination based on sex and disability, and reprisal.

For Conyers, a $50,000 payment was made in 2010. He’s alleged to have made advances on a staffer. Four years later, Conyers faced a hostile workplace, sexual harassment, age discrimination, and reprisal allegations, resulting in improper termination, resulting in a $27,111.75 payout.

Meehan is listed to have two cases involving alleged sexual harassment by a senior staffer that the member was aware of and alleged sexual harassment by the member. The severance pay period for the complainant is listed at $39,250.

Meehan confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that he paid back the settlement after resigning.

“There is no comment. There is nothing [Mace] puts out that wasn’t already public 8 years ago,” Meehan wrote. “Yes, I personally repaid the full settlement amount within 30 days of leaving as I said I would.”

Alexander, who left Congress in 2013 and went on to become the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, faced an allegation of a consensual sexual relationship with a staffer prior to her employment, resulting in her alleged mistreatment and firing, according to a source familiar with the document production. The payout was listed at $15,000.

Alexander told ABC News in a statement that the $15,000 settlement tied to his name was the result of “the behavior of two staffers” in his office.

“Nineteen years ago, during my tenure in Congress, there were two separate and unrelated incidents involving the behavior of two staffers in my office. The allegations were referred to the proper authorities and settlement payments were made by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights,” Alexander wrote. “After an immediate investigation, both offending staffers’ employment with my office were terminated immediately. At no time during my tenure in Congress was any allegation made against me.”

An attorney for Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., who faced allegations of hostile workplace, sexual harassment and inappropriate touching, told ABC News in 2017 that the former congressman had no knowledge of the payments. There were three Massa cases listed and three settlements totaling to $115,000.

Former Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, told ABC News in 2018 that he had no intention of repaying the $84,000 sexual harassment settlement stemming from a 2014 complaint by a former congressional aide alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation. He resigned in 2018 and died last year.

The records surrounding nine cases were provided Monday to Mace and the House Oversight Committee by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights as part of an initial document production pursuant to a committee subpoena, according to a letter signed by John N. Ohlweiler, general counsel at the OCWR, that was sent to the committee on April 24.

The letter presents “relevant statistical information” regarding OCWR cases from Jan. 1, 1996, through Dec. 12, 2018. The OCWR says it “approved a total of 349 awards or settlements to resolve complaints against legislative branch offices.” 

“Some of these awards or settlements may have resolved more than one complaint filed by the same individual against the same office. Of these 349 awards or settlements, there were 80 that were settled by the Office of a Member of the House of Representatives or the Office of a Senator,” the letter states.

ABC News has reviewed an April 24 letter to the committee, which does not name any of the lawmakers whose cases are detailed in the 1,000-page document production to the Oversight Committee, meeting an April 30 deadline imposed by a committee subpoena. A source familiar with the document production confirmed to ABC News that the names listed by Mace do appear in the 1,000-page response from OCWR, though ABC News has not yet independently reviewed the complete document production.

Mace says she will release the documents after carefully reviewing them to ensure that any sensitive information about victims is fully redacted.

In his letter to the committee, Ohlweiler explained how the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights determined which documents met the committee’s objective to investigate sexual misconduct or harassment involving a member of Congress.

Ohlweiler’s letter notes that the CAA Reform Act of 2018 requires OCR to establish a program for the permanent retention of records and OCR’s current Record Retention Policy requires the digital preservation of records from all filed cases.

“We prioritized our efforts on identifying those cases involving allegations of actual Member misconduct — particularly sexual misconduct or sexual harassment — that resulted in awards or settlements, and locating the documents associated with those cases,” Ohlweiler wrote Oversight Chairman James Comer and ranking Democrat Robert Garcia.

The letter from Ohlweiler explains that from the 80 total settlements, at least 20 case files “were destroyed pursuant to an ‘OCWR Record Retention Policy’ that required case records to be destroyed ten years after the case was fully closed” in accordance with a retention policy “put in place in 2013 to align OCWR with regular government-wide record retention practices.”

The OCWR says it maintained a retention policy that required case records to be destroyed ten years after the case was fully closed — a policy it put in place in 2013 to align OCWR with “regular government-wide record retention practices.”

Ohlweiler’s letter notes that the CAA Reform Act of 2018 requires OCR to establish a program for the permanent retention of records and OCR’s current Record Retention Policy requires the digital preservation of records from all filed cases.

“These 20 destroyed physical case files dated to the time period between 1996 and 2003. There are 3 additional physical case files from 2003 and 2004 for which the ‘OCWR Record Retention Policy — Destruction Schedule’ indicates the physical case files were destroyed, but we have not yet physically confirmed that destruction took place because the relevant boxes from long-term storage have not been examined.”

Ohlweiler says that OCWR does still possess and has reviewed the original Settlement Agreements for these 23 cases — including the terms of the settlements. But Ohlweiler says the documents “do not specify any details about the underlying allegations, including who was accused of committing the alleged misconduct.”

There were six additional cases scheduled for destruction between 1997 and 2001 for which OCWR does not have the Settlement Agreement or the case file, according to Ohlweiler’s letter. Ohlweiler says that information within the office’s retired content management system confirms that these six cases were filed against member offices and were ultimately settled.

“For these 6 cases, the CMS does not provide any information regarding the terms of the settlement (except that only one of the six required a payment from the 416 Fund) or the details of the underlying allegations,” Ohlweiler wrote.

“The results of my subpoena of Congress’s sexual harassment slush fund are in. Nine members. One thousand pages,” Mace posted on X on Monday. “All records prior to 2004 were destroyed — which tells you everything you need to know about how long this has been buried. We are reviewing every page. We will name all nine. We will release the full 1,000 pages — once we confirm that personally identifiable information of victims and witnesses has been properly redacted. Accountability is not a threat. It is a promise.”

“Read that again: they destroyed all the evidence prior to 2004,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, reacted on X. 

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The Board of Immigration Appeals has reinstated deportation proceedings against pro-Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi, according to a court filing from his attorneys.

In February, Judge Nina Froes dropped the deportation case against the Columbia University student, ruling in part that the Department of Homeland Security failed to authenticate a memo allegedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming Mahdawi posed a threat to United States foreign policy. 

The Trump administration appealed that decision and the BIA, which skews conservative, overturned Froes’ decision. 

he move reinstates deportation proceedings against Mahdawi, but it will be overseen by a different judge after Froes was terminated from her position. Her firing comes as critics of the Trump administration say it has sought to reshape immigration courts by replacing immigration judges in an attempt to ramp up deportations.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Mahdawi’s arrest is still being challenged in federal court, so the government can’t deport him for the moment, the ACLU said. He was detained in April 2025 when he arrived at his citizenship interview. 

“The government continues to weaponize the immigration system to silence dissent,” Mahdawi said in a statement. “But it cannot erase the Constitution or the First Amendment, which protects free speech for all. The government is trying to punish and deport me, a stateless Palestinian refugee from the occupied West Bank, because it opposes my peaceful advocacy for human dignity and equal rights for Palestinians. But I remain unafraid and faithful that justice will prevail in America and in Palestine.”

Arguing for his detainment last spring, lawyers for the Trump administration pointed to a 2015 FBI investigation, in which a gun shop owner alleged that Mahdawi had claimed to have built machine guns in the West Bank to kill Jews.

However, the FBI closed that investigation and Mahdawi was never charged with any crime, a point a federal judge highlighted when he ordered Mahdawi’s release in May 2025.

 

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(STEWART COUNTY, Tenn.) — An Army Special Forces veteran accused of trying to kill his wife then fleeing into the woods was found dead, likely from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said Wednesday.

Craig Berry, 53, went into the woods near his home in Dover on May 1 after allegedly shooting his wife, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident sparked a dayslong manhunt involving assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

“During search today, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, along with TBI agents, located the body of wanted subject Craig Berry,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Initial indications show he died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The U.S. Marshals also confirmed Wednesday that Berry is dead “and no longer a threat to the public.”

Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, and Berry was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said. His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.

He was wanted for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic assault, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which had added him to the state’s Most Wanted list earlier Wednesday.

Berry was an Army Special Forces veteran with “extensive military training,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which on Tuesday had also issued a wanted bulletin for the suspect.

He had “extensive training in survival tactics,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said, and had warned that it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.

Berry was last seen alive in the wooded area near Old Paris Landing in Dover on May 2, according to the U.S. Marshals.

He was armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday. He was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said.

The U.S. Marshals Service was offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on Berry, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was offering $2,500.

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(SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.) — Nearly 30 years after 19-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared, California investigators conducted new search warrants as part of their ongoing probe into the location of her body.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that deputies executed a search warrant at the 500 block of East Branch Street.

The sheriff’s office declined to provide further details about the operation.

“The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family. No further information is available,” it said in a statement.

Smart attended an off-campus party at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she was a freshman, on May 24, 1996, but never returned to her dormitory.

Investigators declared Smart legally dead in 2002 and the case remained cold until 17 years later, when the true crime podcast “Your Own Backyard” launched and helped investigators to get new witnesses and evidence.

In 2021, investigators arrested and charged Paul Flores, who was a student at the college at the time of Smart’s disappearance.

Detectives said that some classmates found Smart passed out during the early morning hours of May 25, 1996, and Flores appeared out of nowhere. He claimed to the other classmates that he knew where she lived and offered to help her to her dorm, detectives said.

Flores was interviewed by officers following Smart’s disappearance, but he was not charged.

In 2021, police searched the home belonging to Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, and allegedly found human blood and fibers in the dirt that matched the colors of the clothing Smart had been wearing when she went missing.

A jury convicted Paul Flores in October 2022 of first-degree murder and he was sentenced in 2023 to 25 years to life.

Ruben Flores was charged with being an accessory to murder; however, a jury acquitted him on those charges.

Paul Flores appealed his conviction, but in January, the California Supreme Court denied his petition for review of his conviction.

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(STEWART COUNTY, Tenn.) — An Army Special Forces veteran accused of trying to kill his wife then fleeing into the woods has been added to the Tennessee Most Wanted list, authorities said Wednesday, as a manhunt involving state and federal agencies continues.

Craig Berry, 53, went into the woods near his home in Dover on May 1 after allegedly shooting his wife, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, and Berry was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said. His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.

He is wanted for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic assault, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Berry is an Army Special Forces veteran with “extensive military training,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which on Tuesday also issued a wanted bulletin for the suspect.

He has “extensive training in survival tactics,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said, warning that it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.

The U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are assisting in the search, the sheriff’s office said. State troopers have employed helicopters in the manhunt.

Berry was last seen in the wooded area near Old Paris Landing in Dover on May 2, according to the U.S. Marshals.

He is armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on Berry, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is offering $2,500.

Authorities said he is 5’11” and 185 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office at 931-232-6863.

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