UPS, FedEx Grounding MD-11 Cargo Planes For Safety Checks After Kentucky Crash Kills 14

Last Updated:November 08, 2025, 17:46 IST

A UPS MD-11F cargo plane caught fire moments after takeoff as one of its engines detached, and it crashed into a neighbourhood in Louisville, resulting in the deaths of 14 people.

A UPS MD-11 plane crashed in Louisville, killing 14 people. (Photo: AFP/X)

The United Parcel Service (UPS), the multinational shipping company in the United States, said it has grounded its fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo planes after one of them was involved in a tragic crash in Kentucky this week that killed 14 people.

American delivery agent FedEx has also grounded its fleet of MD-11s while it conducts a safety review. The crash on Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 that was headed for Honolulu.

Horrifying visuals emerged on social media, showing a UPS MD-11F cargo plane, Flight 2976, crashing into a residential neighbourhood near Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville and erupting in a fireball on November 5. The accident happened after one of the engines caught fire and detached during takeoff.

A total of 11 people died on the ground, as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said another crash victim was located, bringing the total death count to 14. “Please pray for these families, the Louisville community and everyone affected by this terrible event," he said on X.

The crash was reportedly the deadliest in UPS history. Its main hub, Worldport, is in Louisville, where it employs thousands of people. According to the NTSB, the MD-11 plane was built in 1991 and was modified into a cargo aircraft. McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997.

“Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet. The grounding is effective immediately. We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer," said UPS.

FedEx said in an email that it will be grounding the aircraft while it conducts “a thorough safety review based on the recommendation of the manufacturer."

Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said investigators had identified the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – known as black boxes – and would send them to Washington for analysis.

Inman said the ill-fated plane was nearly airborne on Tuesday when a bell sounded in the cockpit. For the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the aircraft as it barely lifted off the runway, its left wing ablaze and missing an engine, and then ploughed into the ground in a spectacular fireball.

The cockpit voice recorder captured the bell, which sounded about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, Inman said, adding that it would be months before a transcript of the cockpit recording is made public as part of that investigation process.

Flight records suggest the UPS MD-11 that crashed underwent maintenance while it was on the ground in San Antonio for more than a month until mid-October. It is not clear what work was done.

(with inputs from agencies)

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...

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News world UPS, FedEx Grounding MD-11 Cargo Planes For Safety Checks After Kentucky Crash Kills 14

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