Following a tragic accident involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 at the UPS Global Aviation Hub in Kentucky, UPS and FedEx have decided to ground these aircraft as a precautionary measure.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville, resulting in the deaths of 14 individuals, including three pilots aboard the MD-11, which was en route to Honolulu.
According to the companies, MD-11s account for roughly 9% of UPS Airlines’ fleet and about 4% of FedEx’s fleet.
UPS released a statement late Friday, emphasizing the importance of safety: “Following the recommendations of aircraft manufacturers, we proactively made this decision. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve.”
FedEx also confirmed via email that it will ground the aircraft while conducting a “thorough safety review based on the manufacturer’s recommendations.”
Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the reasoning behind the recommendations.
Currently, Western Global Airlines is the sole U.S. cargo airline still operating MD-11s, with 16 in its fleet—12 of which are already in storage. They haven’t commented yet following the incident.
Boeing had announced plans to discontinue the MD-11 in 1998, with the last deliveries occurring in 2000.
National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman stated that the cargo plane, built in 1991, was preparing for takeoff when an alarming bell rang in the cockpit.
As the bell continued to sound for 25 seconds, the pilots struggled to gain control. Unfortunately, the aircraft barely lifted off the runway before its left wing ignited, leading to a catastrophic crash.
Inman noted that the cockpit voice recorder picked up the bell ringing about 37 seconds post takeoff call. Different alarms have varying meanings, and while they do know the left wing was ablaze and the engine on that side was missing, the reason behind the bell’s ringing is still unclear.
It will take several months before the cockpit recordings are publicly released as part of the investigation. Former federal accident investigator Jeff Gazzetti speculated that the bell could have been signaling an engine fire.
He explained that the timing coincided with the takeoff attempt, suggesting the pilots may have surpassed the critical decision speed to safely abort the takeoff. A comprehensive investigation will examine the choices available to the crew at that moment.
Dramatic video footage showed the plane crashing into a row of businesses, sparking a massive fireball in the process.
Various recordings from phones, cars, and security cameras are being used to piece together what transpired. Interestingly, flight records indicate that the UPS MD-11 involved in the crash had undergone more than a month of maintenance in San Antonio, concluding in mid-October.
Details on the nature of this work remain unclear.
UPS’s facility in Louisville, the largest of its kind for the company, employs over 20,000 individuals and manages around 300 flights daily, sorting over 400,000 packages each hour.
Operations at UPS Worldport resumed later Wednesday night with overnight flights, as stated by spokesman Jim Mayer.
