Engine Break from Wing Pylon Caused UPS MD-11 Crash

Still images from an airport surveillance video showing the left engine and left pylon separation from the left wing | Source: UPS, as cited in the NTSB Preliminary Report

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary findings into the crash of UPS Flight 2976, an MD-11F cargo aircraft that went down shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) on November 4, 2025. The aircraft, registered N259UP, was departing for Honolulu when its left engine and pylon separated from the wing moments after rotation. All three crewmembers were killed, along with 11 people on the ground. Another 23 individuals on the ground sustained injuries.

According to airport surveillance video and flight data, the No. 1 engine and pylon detached from the wing shortly after the aircraft lifted off runway 17R, igniting a fire near the pylon attachment area. The aircraft climbed no higher than about 30 feet above ground level based on flight data recorder (FDR) information. It cleared the runway blast fence but struck the roof of a UPS Supply Chain Solutions warehouse before impacting additional buildings and a storage yard. The wreckage path extended roughly 3,000 feet beyond the first ground impact.

Investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and FDR, both of which were successfully downloaded. The aircraft had accumulated about 92,992 flight hours and 21,043 cycles. Initial examinations at the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed fatigue cracking on the fractured lugs of the left pylon aft mount, along with areas of overstress failure. The spherical bearing outer race was also found circumferentially fractured.

The NTSB noted that required 72-month visual inspections and 24-month lubrication tasks had been completed in 2021 and 2025, respectively. However, two special detailed inspections—one for the pylon aft mount lugs and another for the left wing clevis support—were not yet due, as the aircraft had not reached the cycle thresholds for those checks.

Following the accident, UPS grounded its MD-11 fleet on November 7. The FAA subsequently issued Emergency Airworthiness Directives 2025-23-51 and 2025-23-53, prohibiting further flight of MD-11, MD-11F and DC-10 series aircraft until inspections and corrective actions were completed.

The NTSB investigation remains ongoing as materials analysis, recorder data validation and additional structural examinations continue.

The NTSB noted in its report: “This information is preliminary and subject to change.”