Kentucky scrapyard worker injured in UPS plane crash dies on Christmas, raising deaths to 15
Alain Rodriguez Colina was confirmed as the 15th victim in the tragic Louisville plane crash caused by a UPS cargo aircraft on November 4.
A Kentucky scrapyard worker died on Christmas Day after suffering severe burns when a UPS cargo plane crashed into his place of work last month.
Alain Rodriguez Colina was on the ground when the plane, fully loaded with fuel for a flight to Hawaii, plowed into businesses after departing Louisville’s airport, exploding in a massive fireball.
Three pilots and multiple people died after the plane’s left engine detached during takeoff on November 4, and cracks were later found where the engine connected to the wing, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport is home to the largest UPS package delivery hub.
Governor Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed Colina's death via social media.
'May Alain's memory be a blessing,' Greenberg said, while Beshear asked for Colina's family and all those impacted by the tragedy to be kept in their prayers.
Colina worked at Grade A Recycling, which was struck on November 4 by UPS Flight 2976.
Grade A Recycling CEO Sean Garber told local ABC affiliate WCVB that Colina escaped the crash with burns covering over half of his body.
Doctors had given his family a bleak prognosis. Colina was put in an induced coma and never regained consciousness.
He was visited often by family members, Garber added. Colina's mother and siblings lived in the area, and his daughter lived in Cuba.
Alain Rodriguez Colina was identified as the 15th victim killed in a plane crash involving a UPS aircraft on November 4
The crash claimed the lives of three crew members and 12 people on the ground, including three employees at Grade A Recycling
Garber said Colina's family remained optimistic, but his health took a turn on Thursday.
Colina was the third employee killed in the crash. Garber told local NBC affiliate, WAVE, that the team honored those lost, including eight customers, with wreaths on a fence outside their workplace.
'Everyone of us really hoped to keep Lon’s name off of that fence, to keep that wreath down,' he said.
Colina immigrated to the US from Cuba, where he worked as a schoolteacher. His managers said he joined the company in 2023 and quickly rose through the ranks.
'He was one of a kind, one of those people that you meet very few and far between in life, full of life, full of enthusiasm, full of dreams, loved his country, he always had great story to tell me about his culture,' one of his managers, Manuel Leos, said in a statement.