A UPS cargo plane's left wing caught fire and an engine fell off just before it crashed and exploded after takeoff from Louisville International Airport in Kentucky, a federal investigator said Wednesday, offering the first official details about a disaster that killed at least 11 people, including three on board.

There was a fire in the plane's left wing and the engine "detached" during takeoff on Tuesday, said Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.

"There are a lot of different parts of this airplane in a lot of different places," Inman said during a news conference, describing a debris field that stretched for a half-mile.

The plane with three people on board crashed about 5:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday as it was departing f

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