The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed that a cracked part on a UPS freight plane was flagged in a Boeing report years before the aircraft crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, in November 2025, killing 15 people. The information emerged at a two-day hearing into the crash of the MD-11 jet, which lost its left engine on takeoff and slammed into an auto parts recycling plant.
The NTSB said its investigation found fatigue cracks in a support structure on the left pylon connecting the wing and engine, known as the bearing race. A Boeing 2011 report had previously documented four such failures on three different MD-11 aircraft. The board is also reviewing design requirements for these components and the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight over the past two decades.
The crash killed all three crew members and 12 people on the ground, with 23 others injured. The FedEx delivery service has since resumed using its MD-11 fleet after the FAA lifted a grounding order, while UPS retired its remaining two dozen MD-11 jets soon after the accident.
During the hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homey addressed the families of victims, saying: 'Please know: your loved ones are the reason we’re here. We want to find out what happened.' The NTSB released an animated video of the component failure and airport surveillance footage showing the engine detaching. The final report is not expected for more than a year.
