Federal investigators on Thursday released additional images showing the moments leading up to the UPS plane crash in Louisville earlier this month that killed 14 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board released the images in its preliminary report on the crash, saying that investigators found “evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure” on parts near the engine on the left wing. The photos show the McDonnell Douglas MD-11’s left engine erupting in flames and breaking away from the wing as the UPS aircraft begins its takeoff.
National Transportation Safety Board
Federal investigators said that the plane never made it higher than 30 feet above the ground before it dropped back down in a fiery crash. The MD-11’s “left main landing gear impacted the roof of a UPS Supply Chain Solutions warehouse at the southern edge of the airport.” The plane then “impacted a storage yard and two additional buildings, including a petroleum recycling facility, and was mostly consumed by fire.”
National Transportation Safety Board
Eleven of the 14 people killed in the crash were customers or employees at the Grade A Auto Parts and Scrap Metal Recycling, which sits just south of the runways at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. The three others killed in the crash were crew members on board the MD-11. Twenty-three more people on the ground were injured.
The plane was filled with more than 50,000 gallons of fuel as it departed for a long trip to Hawaii. The crash caused secondary explosions at the auto parts and recycling center.
The MD-11 plane was 34 years old and had accumulated nearly 93,000 flight hours. The last time the left pylon aft mount — the part at the center of the investigation — was visually inspected was October 28, 2021. The UPS maintenance program calls for visual inspections of the part every 72 months, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The pylon thrust links and pylon spherical bearings were lubricated just two weeks before the deadly crash, according to the preliminary report.
The MD-11 is one of the oldest planes still in use by shipping companies, such as UPS and FedEx. Both UPS and FedEx announced that they would ground their remaining MD-11s shortly after the crash in Louisville.
A more comprehensive analysis will follow Thursday’s 12-page preliminary report once the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation.
“We continue to grieve for the lives lost in the tragic accident involving Flight 2976,” UPS said on Thursday. “Before the FAA issued its Emergency Airworthiness Directive for all MD-11 operators, UPS proactively grounded its MD-11 fleet out of an abundance of caution. We appreciate the National Transportation Safety Board’s prompt release of preliminary findings and will fully support the investigation through its conclusion.”
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