NTSB Reviews Cracked Wing Mount Before Ups Plane Crash
The NTSB said Tuesday it is reviewing reports of cracks in a wing mount before the ups plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, that killed 15 people. The left engine sheared off a UPS freight airplane on takeoff in November 2025, and the wreck left investigators tracing how a known flaw turned into a fatal loss of control.
Jennifer Homendy told families at the hearing in Washington DC: "Please know: your loved ones are the reason we’re here. We want to find out what happened."
Louisville Crash Sequence
The crash killed all three crew members and 12 people on the ground. Another 23 people on the ground were injured when an auto parts recycling plant ignited after the freighter crashed into it. The NTSB said airport surveillance video showed the engine breaking off the jet, and the plane was unable to climb on its remaining two engines before it slammed into the ground in a fireball.
The agency also said the airplane had been pressed into service to substitute another airplane that had a fuel leak. During a second pre-flight inspection, the flight crew shared good-natured banter with the maintenance team about "meeting again" so soon.
Boeing Report And MD-11 Parts
The NTSB said a cracked part on the airplane had been flagged in a Boeing report in 2011 that said there had previously been four such failures on three different airplanes. The agency said its investigation found fatigue cracks in a support structure on the left pylon that connects to the wing and the plane’s engine, known as the bearing race.
The NTSB also said there had been a series of reports of cracks in race parts on MD-11 planes in the prior decade. The hearing is meant to review the design requirements for those components and the FAA’s oversight of the problem over the last two decades.
UPS, FedEx And Next Steps
UPS retired its remaining two dozen MD-11 jets soon after the crash. FedEx delivery service said it had again started using its fleet of MD-11s after the FAA lifted an order that had barred flying those airplanes after the UPS crash.
The NTSB said it was prepared to call several witnesses, including representatives from Boeing, which manufactured the plane. The agency’s final report likely will not be ready until more than a year after the crash, leaving the hearing record and the released documents as the main window into what investigators have found so far.
