A UPS jet that crashed in Kentucky last fall after an engine fell off during takeoff was back flying over the weekend.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it approved Boeing’s proposed repairs for the workhorse MD-11 aircraft “after an extensive review.” Then FedEx started using them to ship packages again on Sunday.
The UPS plane crashed shortly after takeoff in November 2025 when the plane skidded down the runway and its left engine flew off the wing. Three pilots on the plane carrying packages and fuel to Hawaii were killed, as were 12 others on the ground near Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Boeing has developed a plan to replace critical spherical bearings and step up inspections of components that secure the engines to the wings. The National Transportation Safety Board said that in 2011, Boeing documented four previous failures of a component used to secure the MD-11 engines to the wings on three different planes, but at the time the aircraft manufacturer “determined that these would not result in safe flying conditions.” The planes were built by McDonnell Douglas, which was later acquired by Boeing.
Following the accident, the FAA grounded all MD-11 aircraft due to concerns that the aircraft may be unsafe. Earlier this year, UPS retired its entire fleet of aircraft, about 9% of its fleet. But FedEx remains committed to getting them back in the air, even though they make up only about 4% of its fleet. Western Global Airlines, another package carrier using the MD-11, has not commented publicly since the crash and did not respond to an email about the FAA’s decision.
FedEx said in a statement that it works closely with Boeing, the FAA and their experts to inspect and repair its aircraft, and the government certifies that it has complied with Boeing’s recommendations. It has 46 such planes, although before the crash it had more than two dozen in storage.
“Safety is FedEx’s top priority,” the company said.
But FedEx does plan to eventually retire its MD-11s and replace them with more efficient models. They announced this long-term plan even before the crash.
Aviation attorneys representing some of the families suing over the Louisville crash say they want the FAA to ensure the planes are safe.
“We hope the FAA will thoroughly investigate the repair issues before the MD-11 fleet is cleared to return to flight,” attorney Bradley Cosgrove said.
But aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said he was surprised it took so long to get the planes flying again, given how quickly the National Transportation Safety Board discovered key problems that could have caused the engines to detach. The NTSB plans to hold two days of investigative hearings into the UPS crash next week to get a deeper look into what happened.
“I believe this solution will work and I would like to see the MD-11 back in the air. With these corrective measures in place, it will be a safe aircraft as far as its engines are concerned,” said Guzzetti, who investigated the crash for the NTSB and FAA.
After the crash, some experts speculated that the MD-11 might never fly again if repairs cost more than the value of these older planes. But Boeing found a way around the safety issue by simply replacing the bearings and tightening inspections.
___
Associated Press writer Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this report.
