Bell sounded in cockpit as UPS cargo plane crashed after takeoff, NTSB reveals

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A repeating bell sounded in the cockpit for 25 seconds as pilots tried to control a UPS cargo plane that caught fire, had an engine fall off and crashed during takeoff this week in Louisville, Kentucky, a National Transportation Safety Board member said Friday. The crash killed at least 14 people, including the three pilots on board.

The cockpit voice recorder captured a persistent bell that began about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, and the bell continued until the recording ended, which investigators believe was the final point of impact, NTSB member Todd Inman said.

Inman said there could be different types of alarms with varying meanings, but investigators know there was a fire in the plane's left wing and will use flight data to help determine a clearer picture of what happened.

The NTSB is leading the investigation. Inman said it would be months before the transcript of the cockpit recording is made public as part of that investigation process.

Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, told The Associated Press the bell likely was signaling the engine fire.

"It occurred at a point in the takeoff where they were likely past their decision speed to abort the takeoff," Guzzetti told The AP after Inman's news conference Friday. "They were likely past their critical decision speed to remain on the runway and stop safely. ... They'll need to thoroughly investigate the options the crew may or may not have had."

The crash happened Tuesday at UPS Worldport, the company's global aviation hub in Louisville. Dramatic video captured the aircraft crashing into businesses and erupting in a fireball. Footage from phones, cars and security cameras has given investigators visual evidence of what happened from many different angles.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg reported Friday evening on social media that another body was found at the crash site, bringing the "total number of known fatalities" to at least 14.

UPS on Thursday identified the three pilots who were on board the plane as Capt. Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond.

Bob Travis, president of the Independent Pilots Association, which represented the crew on the UPS flight, told CBS News on Friday that he knew two of the pilots personally. "These were highly trained professionals," Travis said. "...You're not flying a wide-body aircraft around the world for UPS unless you have a lot of experience."

Travis said his organization is working with NTSB investigators, but says he has no doubt the crew did everything they could to prevent this outcome. "Our training is robust," Travis said. "Repeatedly, you are facing what it's like to fly the aircraft if you're missing an engine, or in some cases, two. As we witnessed on the video there, to me looked instantaneous, and it looked catastrophic."

Travis said it's his "belief" that, given the circumstances, there was not much the pilots could have done.

"That's my belief," Travis said. "It looked like a pretty, pretty hard situation to overcome."

CBS News has learned that among those killed in the crash was Louisnes Fedon and his 3-year-old granddaughter, Kimberly Asa.

Matt Sweets, a father of two, was pulled out of the wreckage, but later died at a hospital, CBS News learned.

Angie Anderso, 45, is among nine people still missing, CBS News also learned. Friends believe she was at a scrap metal recycling facility when the plane crashed into it.

Travis said the union will continue to stand with the survivors and victims' families.

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Travis told CBS News. "...And our hearts bleed for them, just like our hearts bleed for the pilots."

Tom Hanson contributed to this report.