The crash involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operated by UPS in Louisville on November 4, which claimed the lives of fourteen people, was caused by cracks in the engine mounting. This is the preliminary conclusion of the NTSB. Newly released footage shows in detail how one of the three engines separated during takeoff.

The MD-11F had just departed Louisville for a flight to Honolulu when the left engine detached from the wing during takeoff. The footage shows the engine skidding across the wing, damaging the wing and the engine in the tail.

Despite the crew's best efforts, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed into an industrial area. The three people on board and eleven on the ground were killed.

All active MD-11s in service with UPS, FedEx, and Western Global Airlines have been grounded and are being inspected individually before being allowed back into the air.

The NTSB's investigation is focusing primarily on the engine-to-wing attachment points. Cracks and signs of overloading have been found there. Further investigation is underway.

The UPS crash is strongly reminiscent of the 1985 American Airlines Flight 191 accident, which killed 276 people in a similar incident. The accident involved a DC-10, from which the MD-11 was later developed.

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Re: UPS-crash caused by cracks in engine mounting
By: Aviation HQ to All on Fri Nov 21 2025 13:37:44

The MD-11F had just departed Louisville for a flight to Honolulu when the le engine detached from the wing during takeoff. The footage shows the engine skidding across the wing, damaging the wing and the engine in the tail.

Wow, it looked like in some video that the right engine was "backfiring" some. With the tail engine damaged, it was not even fully running on one engine. :( --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
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