US EditionUS NTSB finds evidence of fatigue cracks in fatal UPS cargo jet crash
Preliminary NTSB report identifies fatigue cracks and overstress failures in engine mount lugs of UPS MD-11, leading to left engine separation during takeoff and crash killing 14.
- Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report and overnight images showing the left engine and pylon separating as UPS Flight 2976 lifted off in Louisville, Kentucky; the plane never climbed above 30 feet.
- Flight records show the MD-11 aircraft had nearly 93,000 hours and 21,043 cycles before the crash, with inspection and lubrication on Oct. 18, 2025, but was 8,000 cycles short of the 29,200-cycle special inspection.
- NTSB investigators recovered pylon parts showing lug fractures and fatigue cracks on the pylon aft lug and forward lug; James Glass said, `The engine attaches to the pylon and the pylon attaches to the wing via those lugs.`
- The FAA issued a directive to inspect MD-11, MD-10 and DC-10 aircraft pending findings while the NTSB final report will take many months and a CVR technical group prepares a transcript.
- Investigators pointed to the May 25, 1979 Flight 191 crash for comparison, noting nine planes with similar damage after 1979 and Gov. Andy Beshear's office relief fund for those affected.
258 Articles
258 Articles
Photos Show Cargo Plane's Doomed Progression
Frame by frame, six photos released by federal investigators on Thursday graphically capture the horrifying scene of ill-fated Flight 2976 as it turned into a deadly fireball along a Kentucky airport runway. The chilling sequence first shows an engine coming loose from the UPS cargo plane during takeoff. The engine...
The investigation into the crash of UPS Flight 2976 highlights the failure of a critical piece of the cargo aircraft. The accident that occurred on 4 November in the United States resulted in fourteen casualties.
The initial investigation into the UPS plane crash shows similarities to a much-deadlier 1979 crash
An NTSB probe found that the engine of the plane came off its wing because of metal fatigue and stress in the hardware.Robert Ng/South China Morning Post via Getty ImagesThe NTSB says the UPS plane crash in Louisville was caused by metal fatigue in the engine hardware.The crash killed 14 people and led to the grounding of the MD-11 fleet by the FAA.Metal fatigue-related plane crashes are rare but have occurred in previous airline incidents.A fed…
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