VIDEO – The aircraft, which was operating UPS flight 2976 to Honolulu, crashed in an industrial area, causing a massive fireball. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) unveiled new spectacular images on Tuesday, May 19 showing the moment the left engine of a UPS cargo aircraft detached during takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, seconds before the crash that killed 15 people on November 4, 2025.
Surveillance videos shown during a public NTSB hearing depict the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F losing its engine and pylon shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The aircraft, which was on its way to Honolulu, crashed moments later in a nearby industrial area, resulting in a huge fireball.
Cracks observed
The accident claimed the lives of three crew members and twelve people on the ground. Twenty-three others were injured, with one critically injured victim passing away on December 25, 2025, bringing the total death toll to 15.
Preliminary findings presented by investigators indicate that the engine separation was linked to fatigue cracks in a critical part connecting the engine to the wing. The NTSB revealed that similar defects had been reported multiple times over the past fifteen years on other aircraft of the same type, without any major alerts being issued.
Ongoing hearings
Hearings taking place this week in Washington are expected to investigate the potential responsibilities of Boeing, UPS, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in monitoring these technical anomalies. Internal documents discussed during the hearings revealed that a Boeing report from 2011 highlighted similar issues with the engine attachments on MD-11 planes.
Following the tragedy, U.S. authorities temporarily grounded several MD-11 aircraft for thorough inspections. They were cleared to resume flights on May 12 in the United States. UPS has since permanently retired this model from its fleet.
