UPS MD-11 crashes departing Louisville | Flightradar24 Blog

A UPS Airlines MD-11(F) crashed on takeoff from Louisville International Airport (SDF). Based on initial visual evidence from the scene, the aircraft suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure just prior to becoming airborne from Runway 17R at about 22:13 UTC (17:13 local time).

The aircraft crashed just outside the airport perimeter causing a massive fire engulfing multiple structures and cutting power to an area south of the airport. There were three crew members aboard the MD-11. 

As of November 5th 13:50 (UTC), nine people are confirmed dead, among them all three crew members of the flight.

UPS flight 2976 began its takeoff roll on Runway 17R at approximately 22:12:24 UTC. The last ADS-B position of 38.14824, -85.73497 from the aircraft was received at 22:13:30Z.275 UTC. The highest recorded ground speed received was 186 knots. 

The MD-11(F) burns approximately 7,500 kg of fuel per hour. Including reserve fuel, the trip from Louisville to Honolulu would require approximately 75 tonnes of fuel in total.

UPS flight 2976 details

Aircraft information

UPS flight 2976 was operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11(F) registered N259UP. The aircraft was 34 years old and first delivered to Thai Airways International in 1991 for passenger service. It was converted to freighter configuration in 2006 and began service with UPS that same year. The aircraft is powered by three General Electric CF6-80C2D1F engines.

Investigative updates

5 November 2025 — NTSB board member J. Todd Inman provided the first briefing on the accident today. 

• Airport CCTV viewed by NTSB shows engine 1 (left) detaching from the wing on airport property
• The post crash fire extended 0.5 miles
• The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR), colloquially known as the Black boxes, have both been recovered. The recorders sustained heat exposure, but the NTSB believes they will be able to retrieve data from both recorders.
• 28 NTSB staff will be on scene by the end of the day, Wednesday, 5 November.

6 November 2025 — NTSB board member J. Todd Inman provided a second briefing on Thursday.

• The NTSB flew the CVR and FDR to Washington overnight and recorder specialists at the NTSB lab were able to extract data from both memory modules.
• During the NTSB’s Foreign Object Debris (FOD) walk on the airfield, multiple engine fan blade pieces were recovered
• The number 1 engine (left wing) was also recovered on the airfield and moved to a secure storage facility

7 November 2025 — The NTSB released video from its aerial overview of the crash scene in Louisville. The full video is available here.

The NTSB also confirms that the bulk of the engine pylon was still connected to the left engine as it separated from the aircraft.

7 November — UPS and FedEx are grounding their MD-11 fleets with immediate effect based on the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer (Boeing, which assumed responsibility for the aircraft its merger with McDonnell Douglas).

UPS operates a fleet of 26 MD-11s, while FedEx maintains a fleet of 29.

Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet. MD-11s are approximately 9% of the UPS Airlines fleet. The grounding is effective immediately. We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve.

Contingency plans are in place to ensure we can continue to deliver the reliable service our customers around the world count on.

-UPS

Safety is our highest priority at FedEx. Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to immediately ground our MD-11 fleet as we conduct a thorough safety review based on the recommendation of the manufacturer.

We are immediately implementing contingency plans within our integrated air-ground network to minimize disruptions. Our teams are focused on delivering the highest standards of safety and service for our customers and team members.

- FedEx

20 November 2025 — The NTSB released its preliminary report on the crash, including details of the sequence of events and preliminary metallurgical findings from the engine pylon assembly. Preliminary examination of the engine pylon found fatigue cracking in multiple locations.

“... examination of the left pylon aft mount lug fractures found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure. On the aft lug, on both the inboard and outboard fracture surfaces, a fatigue crack was observed where the aft lug bore met the aft lug forward face. For the forward lug's inboard fracture surface, fatigue cracks were observed along the lug bore. For the forward lug's outboard fracture surface, the fracture consisted entirely of overstress with no indications of fatigue cracking.”

NTSB preliminary report

14 January 2026 — The NTSB released an investigative update following additional materials analysis of the spherical bearing assembly (red label in image above) from the number one engine. The NTSB found evidence of fracturing and fatigue cracking in the bearing’s race (image below).

The NTSB notes that this bearing appears to be consistent with assemblies which had previously been the subject of a Boeing Service Letter following four bearing assembly failures on three separate aircraft prior to February 2011.

The NTSB also provided an update on the preliminary flight data recorder read out. The agency notes that the FDR showed only Engine 1 “fire parameter changed from “no fire” to “fire.” Engine 2 showed “minor perturbations” in the data as well.