NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on UPS Plane Crash in Louisville
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a preliminary report regarding the recent tragic UPS plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky.
A Boeing MD-11F was lost shortly after it took off, resulting in the deaths of three individuals aboard and eleven on the ground. Additionally, around 23 others sustained various injuries due to the incident.
Footage from surveillance cameras captured the moment the plane erupted in flames, ultimately skidding to a stop in a thick cloud of smoke.
In their findings, the NTSB shared newly obtained frame-by-frame images from the airport’s surveillance video, detailing the moment the left engine of the UPS cargo plane detached from its wing. This occurred very soon after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, leading to a significant fire.
The aircraft managed to ascend to an altitude of roughly 30 feet before clearing the runway fence and crashing into a nearby storage area, igniting a fire that affected two buildings, one of which housed an oil recycling facility.
The report identified “fatigue cracks” and “overstress” in the pylon—the component that secures the engine to the wing. While the NTSB mentioned that the bearing connecting the engine and wing failed, they also noted no evidence of pre-existing damage or any deformation on the aircraft.
Interestingly, this plane was constructed in 1991 and had undergone recent maintenance. According to investigators, the takeoff process had been smooth until the engine failure led to the explosion.
Further comparisons in the NTSB’s report were drawn between this incident and the 1979 crash of American Airlines Flight 191. In that case, a left engine had separated from a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 during takeoff, leading to a tragic outcome for all 271 passengers and crew, as well as two individuals on the ground.
In response to the Louisville event, both UPS and FedEx, the remaining large operators of the MD-11, announced an immediate grounding of their fleets of this aircraft. Notably, these trijet planes make up about 9% of UPS’s overall airlift capacity.
The investigation conducted by the NTSB continues, with teams currently examining audio from the cockpit voice recorder that was retrieved from the wreckage.
