Boeing knew of engine defect on UPS plane that crashed in Kentucky, report says | Plane crashes
Investigators have found that an engine part suspected of causing a UPS cargo plane to crash in Louisville in November, killing 15 people, was the subject of at least four previous failures on three separate planes.
A. preliminary report In a release Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that Boeing warned plane owners about the defect but did not believe it was a flight safety issue and did not require immediate repair.
Shipping companies UPS and FedEx temporarily grounded their fleets of MD-11s, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas before it was taken over by Boeing, following a crash at Muhammad Ali international airport on Nov. 4, 2025, when an engine in the plane’s left wing caught fire and separated.
While the three-person crew of the plane and 12 people on the ground died, the last person died on Christmas Day. It was the subject of an accident at least one caseRelatives of a woman who died on the ground alleged that UPS was negligent in keeping the MD-11 aircraft in service despite known maintenance problems.
The NTSB has previously said investigators found cracks where the plane’s engine attaches to its wing. The investigative update released Wednesday revealed that Boeing sent a service letter to MD-11 owners in February 2011 informing them that the “spherical bearing race” assembly that helps secure engines to the wings had failed four times and on three separate aircraft.
“Boeing did not consider this a flight safety issue,” the report said, and as a result, the company recommended that the part be inspected only during regularly scheduled general inspections, typically every 60 months, rather than immediate corrective action.
A Boeing spokesperson said in a statement: “We continue to support the investigation by the NTSB. We offer our deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, and our thoughts are with those affected.” The findings of the report were not mentioned in the statement.
UPS spokesman Jim Mayer said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the crash on Flight 2976. Our thoughts remain with the grieving families and the Louisville community, and we remain focused on recovery efforts.”
UPS has previously said it would not comment on current or pending legislation.
The plane that crashed in Louisville was the MD-11F version, the successor to McDonnell Douglas’ powerful three-engine DC-10 model. The 34-year-old plane crashed into an industrial complex near the airport at around 5.15pm just after takeoff, causing a huge fireball.
Eyewitnesses said that the plane took off after catching fire from one of its wings, and its engine broke off while trying to rise. Footage broadcast by CBS affiliate WLKY showed the moment of impact, fires breaking out in several buildings in the industrial area beyond the runway, and thick black smoke rising into the sky.
The Associated Press reported that no cracks were detected during the plane’s most recent maintenance inspection. It was stated that the last time the engine mounting parts were closely examined was in October 2021, and the next inspection did not have time for approximately 7,000 takeoffs and landings.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB, told the AP that the now-defunct McDonnell Douglas sent out a bulletin in 1980 describing the failures in the global bearing race as “safety of flight condition.”
“This raises questions about the adequacy of the severity of the 2011 service letter, and it also raises questions about how UPS combined this information and acted upon it,” Guzzetti said.
Kentucky tragedy has parallels Crash in Chicago in 1979 The story of the American Airlines DC-10, which killed all 271 people on board and led to global groundings of the fleet. There were DC-10s a checkered security recordThey were allowed to return to flight after it was determined that the maintenance crew had damaged the aircraft with a forklift while reinstalling the engine.
