Louisville UPS MD11 Crash

[AlterEgo]

The MD11 has only three operators. All are US based.

 

[ainsworth74]

The NTSB have released a preliminary report:

UPS Flight 2976 Crash During Takeoff
What Happened
This information is preliminary and subject to change.

On November 4, 2025, about 1714 eastern standard time (EST), United Parcel Service (UPS) flight 2976, a Boeing (McDonnell-Douglas) MD-11F airplane, N259UP, was destroyed after it impacted the ground shortly after takeoff from runway 17R at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky. The 3 crewmembers aboard the airplane and 11 people on the ground were fatally injured. There were 23 others on the ground who were injured. Flight 2976 was a domestic cargo flight operating under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 from SDF to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii.

In response to the accident, the NTSB traveled to SDF on November 5, 2025, and started the process of documenting the accident site, and collecting the perishable data necessary for the investigation.

As part of the investigative process, the NTSB invited qualified parties to participate in the investigation. These included:

the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
UPS,
The Boeing Company,
Independent Pilots Association (IPA),
General Electric (GE) Aerospace, and
Teamsters Airline Division.

DCA26MA024.aspx

www.ntsb.gov

The report itself is attached and includes a horrific picture of the engine and pylon separating at the moment of rotation. I've not yet read the report but from the image alone those pilots never stood a chance of getting the aircraft airborne and it's a miracle, in my opinion, that they kept it going as long as they did.

 

[anthony263]

The NTSB have released a preliminary report:

DCA26MA024.aspx

www.ntsb.gov

The report itself is attached and includes a horrific picture of the engine and pylon separating at the moment of rotation. I've not yet read the report but from the image alone those pilots never stood a chance of getting the aircraft airborne and it's a miracle, in my opinion, that they kept it going as long as they did.

Think if they'd hadn't lost engine 2 I think they might have had a chance to get it airborne and land it

 

[edwin_m]

The report itself is attached and includes a horrific picture of the engine and pylon separating at the moment of rotation. I've not yet read the report but from the image alone those pilots never stood a chance of getting the aircraft airborne and it's a miracle, in my opinion, that they kept it going as long as they did.

Think if they'd hadn't lost engine 2 I think they might have had a chance to get it airborne and land it.

From what I've seen the MD11 should be able to fly on two engines but not on one. It's not yet clear which of the other engines was damaged - the way the left engine jumped over the fuselage it could even have hit the right one.

The similarities to the 1979 DC10 crash are striking. Both were triggered by fatigue failure in the aft attachment of the left engine pylon to the wing.

 

[Darandio]

It's not yet clear which of the other engines was damaged - the way the left engine jumped over the fuselage it could even have hit the right one.

I watched this summary today (from 3:43) and it certainly looks like engine 2 was damaged. The left banking before impact also seems consistent with the right engine still providing thrust.

 

[Ted633]

The similarities to the 1979 DC10 crash are striking. Both were triggered by fatigue failure in the aft attachment of the left engine pylon to the wing.

Indeed. Now the answer we need is why. The previous crash was due to the maintenance procedure, with aircraft manuals modified afterwards. Has maintenance caused an issue again or has this procedure crept back in? Or was this just age related fatigue? If it’s the latter, it may well spell the end of the MD-11.

 

[edwin_m]

Indeed. Now the answer we need is why. The previous crash was due to the maintenance procedure, with aircraft manuals modified afterwards. Has maintenance caused an issue again or has this procedure crept back in? Or was this just age related fatigue? If it’s the latter, it may well spell the end of the MD-11.

It may do anyway. I believe both FedEx and UPS were planning to retire them within a few years anyway. By the time the investigators get to the root cause and corrective actions are published that allow the grounding to be lifted, it may well be that the operators have secured alternative aircraft and they choose to keep these on long term.

 

[AlterEgo]

Doubt we will see these aircraft fly again.

 

[ainsworth74]

The NTSB are currently holding a two day investigative hearing into this accident:

Investigative Hearing: UPS Flight 2976 Crash During Takeoff​

WASHINGTON (April 16, 2026) — The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled a two-day investigative hearing May 19–20 into last year’s crash of a United Parcel Service MD-11F cargo airplane shortly after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky.

The three crewmembers aboard the airplane were killed. Eleven people on the ground were killed and another 23 injured.

The hearing will be held at the NTSB boardroom in Washington and will be and livestreamed.

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/DCA26MA024InvHearing.aspx

Part of the materials released includes the below YouTube video with animations of their findings so far as to the failure mode of the engine attachment. It also includes slowed surveillance footage of the engine detaching from the wing. This appears to be the same footage that the stills from the preliminary report came from. It doesn't make for pleasant viewing though the animiation itself (whilst dry) is informative.

On November 4, 2025, about 1714 eastern standard time, United Parcel Service (UPS) flight 2976, a Boeing (McDonnell-Douglas) MD 11F airplane, N259UP, was destroyed after it impacted buildings and the ground shortly after takeoff from runway 17R at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Louisville, Kentucky. The 3 crewmembers aboard the airplane and 11 people on the ground were fatally injured. There were 23 others on the ground who were injured.

This animation illustrates the structure of the MD-11F aircraft engine-to-wing attachment and presents investigative findings related to the separation of the left engine.

The animation begins with an external view of a UPS MD-11 aircraft, showing two engines mounted under the wings and one engine mounted on the tail. The left engine-to-wing attachment pylon is highlighted in blue.

The view transitions to the internal structure of the pylon assembly. The pylon frame is attached to the wing at three locations:
• the aft mount, located at the rear of the structure,
• the forward mount, located near the center, and
• the thrust fitting, positioned behind the forward mount.

A three-dimensional model of the aft mount is then presented to illustrate its geometry, which is a triangular structure with forward and aft mounting lugs at the top. The animation shows how the aft mount connects to the wing clevis on the underside of the wing. The forward and aft lugs are shown fitting into the clevis.

The aft mount assembly hardware is then illustrated. This includes a bolt, a nut, a bushing, and a retaining collar. An external grease fitting on the bushing connects to internal lubrication passages.

The view transitions to show the spherical bearing that is housed within the forward and aft lugs. The bearing consists of a spherical monoball seated within a one-piece outer race that conforms to the ball’s shape. A cross-sectional view demonstrates how the monoball rotates within the outer race as the structure flexes during normal operation.

Arrows highlight the grooves on the inner and outer surfaces and three holes that distribute grease within the bearing.

The view shifts to a cross-sectional view of the outer race, which has a ¼-inch-wide groove around its circumference to aid in grease distribution.

The image shows lines depicting the fatigue cracks that grew outward from the forward and aft corners of the groove; the lines are color-coded: red at the forward corner and yellow at the aft corner. A zoomed inset view on left shows the cracks propagating outward over time through the thickness of the outer race.

The animation illustrates the outer race separating into two pieces along the plane of the fatigue cracks from the forward corner of the grease-distribution groove. The separation of the outer race is shown again in a perspective view and once more with the bearing housed in the lugs to demonstrate how the pieces of the outer race could migrate within the lugs.

The separation of the outer race led to abnormal loading on the lugs, and the next sequence shows lines depicting fatigue cracks that initiated in the bores of the forward and aft lugs. Red lines indicate crack growth on the inboard side, and yellow lines indicate crack growth on the outboard side. The cracks propagated outward through the lugs, with complete fracture occurring at the inboard side of the lugs, followed by bending of the lugs and complete fracture at the outboard side of the lugs.

A two-dimensional graphic then illustrates how the separation of the left pylon aft mount allowed the engine to rotate up around the forward mount. The rotation led to failure of the forward mount and departure of the engine from the aircraft.

Finally, a surveillance video from the airport is shown at half of the actual speed. The footage captures the aircraft during the takeoff rotation and shows the left pylon and engine separating as a unit shortly after liftoff.

 

[ainsworth74]

I should also mention a lot of sub-reports have been released as part of the hearing including a Operational Factors/Human Performance report which has a lot of details including about things leading up to the flight along with more information about the crew. We also have a report into the Cockpit Voice Recorder which includes the transcript from the CVR. I'm not sure there's anything really useful to learn from that beyond the fact that it all seemed perfectly normal until it wasn't and as a non-pilot I don't see what else they could do in the time they had but it is there for anyone who wants to read it.

I can't really provide summaries as they're long documents but you can find them here (along with other bits and pieces).

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Very informative indeed. Thanks for posting.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The June issue if Air Britain News reveals that some MD-11 are in fact re-entering service, contrary to earlier expectations.

FedEx has put N621FE back into use as of 10th May.

Western Global has reinstated N781SN as of an unspecified date.