Authorities investigating the Louisville cargo plane crash have confirmed the authenticity of newly leaked security footage that appears to show an unidentified figure boarding the UPS aircraft just minutes before takeoff — footage that has now been verified by federal investigators.
The dark silhouette, seen slipping through a restricted gate under the cover of night, was initially believed to be a ground crew member. But advanced facial analysis conducted by the FBI revealed a stunning match:
The figure is believed to be a former aviation technician who mysteriously disappeared more than a year ago.
Investigators have since identified him as Daniel Kerrigan, 42, a former UPS maintenance engineer who left the company under unclear circumstances in 2024. He had been declared missing six months later after abandoning his home and vehicle in rural Kentucky.
What’s most disturbing, however, is what police discovered during a secondary inspection of the plane’s cargo hold.
“It wasn’t what we expected — and it changes the entire direction of this case,” said one federal source involved in the crash investigation.
Sources close to the probe say investigators recovered a sealed metal container bolted beneath the cargo racks — an item not listed on any official manifest. Inside, forensic experts found traces of aviation-grade accelerant and an unidentified synthetic compound.
Officials have not yet disclosed whether the material is connected to the cause of the crash, but early tests indicate it could have been capable of triggering combustion under specific atmospheric conditions.
Meanwhile, questions are mounting over how Kerrigan, who had no recorded security clearance at the time, managed to access the tarmac and board the aircraft undetected.
Federal investigators have now launched a joint inquiry into possible internal assistance or system compromise, with one agent describing the situation as “something we’ve never encountered in a civilian logistics network.”
As the investigation deepens, families of the victims are demanding answers — and asking the same haunting question investigators are now racing to solve:
If Daniel Kerrigan boarded that plane… what was he carrying?
