US Grounds MD-11 Cargo Fleet After Catastrophic Kentucky Crash

The United States’ civil aviation authority has ordered the immediate grounding of all McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo planes following a devastating crash in Kentucky earlier this week that claimed at least fourteen lives.

The fatal incident occurred when a UPS-operated MD-11 aircraft burst into flames shortly after taking off from Louisville’s airport on Tuesday. The jet, carrying a three-person crew, exploded moments after departure, leaving a trail of wreckage perilously close to a Ford assembly plant employing nearly 3,000 workers.

Aerial images captured firefighters battling towering flames as thick plumes of smoke rose from the crash site. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear later confirmed the discovery of another victim, raising the death toll to fourteen. “Please pray for these families, the Louisville community, and everyone affected by this terrible event,” he said on X.

On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency directive halting all MD-11 and MD-11F flights until each aircraft undergoes a comprehensive inspection and any necessary repairs are completed. The order was prompted by the discovery that “the left-hand engine and pylon detached from the airplane during take-off,” a failure that the FAA warned could occur on other aircraft of the same design.

Both UPS and FedEx had already taken voluntary action before the directive, temporarily grounding their MD-11 fleets “out of an abundance of caution.” UPS reported that the aircraft model makes up roughly nine percent of its total fleet, while FedEx confirmed grounding its twenty-eight MD-11s from a total of about seven hundred aircraft.

Boeing, which acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, stated that it had recommended all three MD-11 operators suspend operations pending further engineering analysis. The only other airline currently flying the MD-11 is Western Global Airlines.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recovered both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders—the so-called “black boxes”—and will send them to Washington, D.C., for detailed analysis. Officials noted that the aircraft, built in 1991, had been converted into a freighter years earlier.

NTSB member Todd Inman said investigators were examining whether mechanical failure or other factors caused the disaster. Despite the ongoing government shutdown—the longest in US history—Inman confirmed there were no known staff shortages among air traffic controllers in Louisville at the time of the crash.

The tragedy marks the deadliest accident in UPS’s history and has once again drawn attention to ageing cargo aircraft in operation across the United States. With roughly 38,000 gallons of fuel aboard for its planned trans-Pacific flight to Hawaii, the MD-11’s fiery end serves as a grim reminder of the immense risks faced in the air freight industry.