The tragic crash of UPS Flight 2976 claimed another victim on Christmas Day, as reported by NBC News. Alain Rodriguez Colina, who worked at a scrapyard near the airport, had been in an induced coma during the seven weeks since the crash of flight 2976. The aircraft had crashed into the area where Colina had worked, destroying the scrapyard and the surrounding area. Alain Rodriguez Colina’s death marks the 15th death related to the crash.
UPS Flight 2976 was a scheduled cargo flight from Louisville to Honolulu. On November 4, 2025, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F’s number one engine detached, causing a fire on the aircraft’s wing. The aircraft became uncontrollable, and it began banking sharply to the left into a dive. All three pilots aboard were killed, in addition to 12 people on the ground.
The Death Of Alain Rodriguez Colina
Alain Rodriguez Colina is the 15th victim of the November crash of UPS Flight 2976. Colina was a Cuban immigrant who had been working at a Grade A Auto Parts & Recycling near Louisville Muhammed Ali International Airport, where he held the position of metal buyer. His mother and siblings were also Louisville residents, while his daughter remained in Cuba.
He was attending to a customer with another coworker when the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operating flight 2976 crashed into the scrapyard and a nearby semi-truck parking lot. His coworker perished when the aircraft crashed, but Colina was able to escape the wreckage. The entire area caught on fire, and the scrapyard itself was destroyed. 12 people on the ground (including Alain Rodriguez Colina) were killed, while another 22 were injured.
Alain Rodriguez Colina was able to escape, but he had sustained burns to more than 50% of his body. Upon reaching the hospital, doctors placed him in a medically induced coma, and he never regained consciousness. Doctors initially gave him a slim chance to survive, but he appeared to have been slowly recovering. However, on December 25, Colina took a turn for the worse and was pronounced dead.
The Crash Of UPS Flight 2976
UPS Flight 2976 was a flight operating from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport to Honolulu Daniel K Inouye International Airport. On November 4, 2025, it was being operated by N259UP, a 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11F, equipped with three General Electric CF6-80 turbofans. The aircraft was originally delivered to Thai Airways in 1991 and was converted to a freighter in 2006 for service with UPS Airlines.
The aircraft departed from Louisville’s Runway 17R at roughly 5:13 pm local time. Shortly after reaching V1 (decision speed), the aircraft’s number one engine detached from the wing with the pylon still attached. The engine subsequently caught on fire, and a fire spread near the attachment point on the MD-11’s left wing.
In a manner eerily similar to the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 in 1979 (involving a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the MD-11’s predecessor), the aircraft began to bank to the left and began descending. The left main landing gear struck a UPS Supply Chain warehouse, while the left wing struck a line of fuel tanks, causing a fire. The aircraft banked more than 90 degrees to the left before striking Grade A Auto Parts & Recycling and the semi-truck parking lot.
FedEx Expects MD-11 Fleet To Return Soon Due To Quick Inspections
A vote of confidence in the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F.
What Could Have Caused This Tragedy
The sequence of events is similar to the events of AA191 in 1979. In that crash, the DC-10’s number one engine and pylon assembly separated from the left wing. This caused the slats to retract, and the aircraft began leaking fuel as well as hydraulic fluid. The aerodynamic imbalance caused the plane to bank to the left, eventually rolling into a dive before crashing. With 273 total fatalities, AA191 remains the worst air disaster in the United States.
It was eventually determined that improper maintenance procedures damaged the pylon assembly, resulting in the crash. However, McDonnell Douglas redesigned the DC-10’s slats and hydraulic systems to prevent another crash. It’s believed that UPS Flight 2976 may have also lost its number two engine, which may explain why the plane couldn’t climb. The NTSB’s investigation is currently underway. but only when the final report is issued will we know the full sequence of events that led to this tragedy.
