The crash on Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville tragically killed 14 people, including the three pilots aboard the MD-11 aircraft that was headed for Honolulu.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official Todd Inman stated on Thursday that the crashed plane was a 1991 McDonnell Douglas model that had been modified into an MD-11 Freighter. MD-11 aircraft make up about 9% of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet, according to the companies.
In response to the crash, UPS issued a statement late Friday: “We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve.”
Similarly, FedEx announced via email that it will be grounding its MD-11 aircraft while conducting “a thorough safety review based on the recommendation of the manufacturer.”
Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press regarding the reasoning behind the recommendation. Inman noted on Thursday that Boeing is currently “handling” the crashed plane.
Flight records indicate that the UPS MD-11 involved in the crash underwent maintenance during an extended ground stay in San Antonio, Texas, for more than a month until mid-October. However, details of the work performed remain unclear.
Western Global Airlines is the only other U.S. airline operating MD-11s. The airline’s fleet includes 16 MD-11s, though 12 have already been placed in storage. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of business hours early Saturday.
Boeing announced back in 1998 that it would phase out MD-11 jetliner production, with the last deliveries scheduled for 2000.
### Details of the Crash
On Tuesday, the UPS cargo plane was nearly airborne when a bell sounded in the cockpit, Inman explained during a Friday briefing. For approximately 25 seconds, the bell rang as pilots struggled to control the aircraft, which barely lifted off the runway. The plane’s left wing was on fire and missing an engine before it crashed into the ground in a massive fireball.
Carrying about 255,000 pounds of jet fuel along with up to 20,000 packages, the MD-11’s cockpit voice recorder captured the bell sound roughly 37 seconds after the crew had called for takeoff thrust.
“There are different types of alarms with varying meanings,” Inman said. Investigators have yet to determine the exact cause of the alarm but confirmed the left wing was burning and its engine had detached.
The transcript of the cockpit voice recorder is expected to take months before being released publicly as part of the ongoing investigation.
### Expert Analysis
Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, suggested the bell likely indicated an engine fire. “It occurred at a point in the takeoff where they were likely past their decision speed to abort the takeoff,” Guzzetti told The Associated Press. “They were likely past their critical decision speed to remain on the runway and stop safely. They’ll need to thoroughly investigate the options the crew may or may not have had.”
### Witness Accounts and Aftermath
Dramatic videos captured the aircraft crashing into nearby businesses and erupting into flames. Footage from phones, cars, and security cameras provided investigators with multiple perspectives of the crash.
Witnesses described chaos on the ground. Georgie Dow, chief financial officer of an auto parts business impacted by the crash, told CBS News, “It was explosion after explosion after explosion, so you just didn’t know when it was going to stop. It was so hot. You took a step back because it was like heat in your face. There was no going to help.”
### UPS Worldport Operations
The UPS package handling facility in Louisville is the company’s largest hub. It employs more than 20,000 people in the region, handles 300 flights daily, and sorts over 400,000 packages per hour.
Operations at UPS Worldport resumed Wednesday night with its Next Day Air (night sort) operation, spokesperson Jim Mayer confirmed.
The investigation into the crash continues as authorities work to determine the full sequence of events leading to this tragic accident.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-ups-crash-planes-grounded-md-11-boeing-fedex/
