LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Louisville family is recovering after finding themselves directly underneath Tuesday night's catastrophic UPS plane crash and explosion near Muhammad Ali International Airport. While they sustained scrapes, cuts, and minor burns, the Ballenger family says they are grateful to be alive and together.
Mary Ballenger was waiting with her children and grandchildren in the family minivan for her husband Terry to finish his shift at Embry's Auto Parts on Grade Lane when disaster struck.
"Next thing we know, we look up and the UPS plane is coming directly at us," Mary Ballenger said.
The family was positioned right behind a blue building near the airport when they heard the first explosion.
"We hear a boom, the plane starts coming lower, I grab my kids, we're in the van, and the flames start rolling in. We hear another boom and I just grabbed the kids, we get out of the van and take off running," Mary Ballenger said.
Two days after the crash, the trauma remains fresh for the entire family.
"One minute you're sitting waiting for your husband to get off work to go home, the next minute you're running for your life," Mary Ballenger said.
Her child, Hayden Ballenger, described the terrifying moments: "First thing I saw was the plane coming at us. So I went out the van and then my dad came running. And then I went around the building, and then all I saw was a big huge plane. I was scared for a minute and I ran out the van."
The family's minivan shows visible damage from the intense heat of the explosion. They spent the night in the emergency room, where Mary was treated for a ruptured eardrum from the blast. The entire family suffered bruises, cuts, and minor burns.
"It was the worst day of my life. I opened the door and I looked down there and I couldn't see anything but a wall of flames," Terry Ballenger said.
The psychological impact continues to affect the family.
"We can't even close our eyes right now without seeing a plane or balls of flames like he said. We're completely traumatized," Mary Ballenger said.
Despite their own trauma, the family thinks of those who died in the crash and acknowledges how much worse their situation could have been.
"Somehow, the flames went away. And he come running out of them. And then she came out, she came out, she came out, she came out. Then it was the best feeling of my life. Because I thought I watched my family die," Terry Ballenger said.
The family has started a GoFundMe to pay for medical bills, repairs to their minivan, and items they lost while fleeing the crash scene.
