The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a video showing the left engine and pylon separating from the UPS Boeing MD-11F that crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in November 2025.
The video was released as part of the NTSB’s two-day investigative hearing into the November 4, 2025, crash of UPS Flight 2976. The cargo aircraft was operating from Louisville to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu when it crashed moments after lifting off.
The crash killed 15 people, including three crew members and 12 people on the ground. The hearing is examining reports of fatigue cracks in a bearing race, part of the left pylon support structure that connects the engine to the wing.
The NTSB previously said its investigation found fatigue cracks in the left pylon support structure. The board is also reviewing a 2011 Boeing report that identified four prior failures on three different aircraft.
The hearing is also reviewing design requirements for the components and FAA oversight of the issue over the past two decades.
The NTSB investigation page also includes still images from airport surveillance video showing the left engine and pylon separation from the left wing. The agency said the information remains preliminary and subject to change.
The video of the engine and pylon separation is new, and shows how quickly events unfolded during the takeoff roll. The MD-11 involved in the crash, N259UP, was destroyed after it impacted the ground shortly after takeoff from runway 17R at Louisville.
The NTSB began the investigation after sending a team to Louisville on November 5, 2025. Parties to the investigation include the FAA, UPS, Boeing, the Independent Pilots Association, GE Aerospace, the Teamsters Airline Division and Collins Aerospace.
The crash led to renewed scrutiny of the MD-11 fleet. FedEx began returning its MD-11 aircraft to service after the FAA lifted a grounding order, while UPS retired its remaining MD-11 fleet at the end of 2025.
