Cracked Engine Mount Leads to UPS MD-11 Crash: Preliminary Report Reveals Catastrophic Failure
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A devastating UPS cargo plane crash that killed 14 people on November 4 has been blamed on a catastrophic engine failure caused by fatigue cracks in the engine mount. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11F took off from Louisville, Kentucky, but lost its left engine just 30 feet above ground, plummeting in a fireball. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigators found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure in the engine mount. This led to the engine and its pylon detaching from the aircraft just seconds after takeoff. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily grounded all MD-11F cargo jets pending inspections and corrective actions. The directive has since been expanded to include other aircraft with similar engine-pylon designs, affecting around 9% of UPS' fleet and 4% of rival FedEx Corp's. UPS had voluntarily grounded its MD-11 fleet before the FAA directive, citing an abundance of caution. Boeing, which acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, is supporting the investigation along with UPS. The probe aims to determine how the engine and pylon detached so soon after takeoff, with investigators considering maintenance history as a possible factor. The MD-11, built in the early 1990s for Thai Airways International, was converted into a freighter 20 years ago. With only cargo operations remaining, the MD-11 is now long out of production. The definitive conclusions of the investigation are expected to take anywhere from one to two years to reach.
