The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday ordered the temporary grounding of all MD-11 cargo planes until inspections and any possible corrective actions are completed, following the crash of a UPS jet in Louisville, Kentucky this week that killed 14 people.
Flight 2976’s left engine and pylon separated during takeoff, resulting in a fiery crash just across the runway. MD-11s have three engines. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident to determine how the separation occurred.
“The FAA is issuing this airworthiness directive because the agency has determined that unsafe conditions are likely to exist or develop in other products of the same design type,” the order states.
The emergency directive formalized a voluntary decision late Friday by UPS and FedEx to halt operations of the MD-11 following a recommendation from the plane’s maker, Boeing. Together, the two airlines operate 57 MD-11 cargo jets. According to FlightRadar24, Western Global Airlines, a small airline based in Estero, Florida, near Fort Myers, has 12 MD-11s in its fleet and currently operates six of them.
MD-11s make up about 9 percent of FedEx and UPS’ core fleets. The average life of these planes is 31.5 years. Both airlines said they have implemented contingency plans to replace lost capacity and minimize disruption to traffic.
UPS is phasing out MD-11s in early 2023, citing a desire for more modern, more fuel-efficient aircraft. FedEx also began retiring some of its MD-11s, but announced in May that it would push back the full fleet retirement deadline from 2028 to 2032 due to its strategic decision to complement its parcel shipping business by carrying more heavy cargo reserved by logistics companies.
Click here for FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulish.
UPS and FedEx ground the MD-11 flight to conduct a safety inspection
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UPS will restart Louisville air hub operations for Thursday deliveries
NTSB crash investigators are trying to minimize disruption to UPS customers
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