The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive for all MD-10 and DC-10 aircraft to be grounded due to similarities with the UPS MD-11 model that crashed recently in Louisville.
On November 15, 2025, the FAA stated that all MD-10 and DC-10 aircraft are required to undergo inspection and if needed, repairs.
“This action expands last week’s directive after new analysis showed these aircraft share key design features with the MD-11,” explained the FAA.
AD 2025-23-53 was sent to owners and operators of the “Boeing Company Model MD-11, MD-11F, MD-10F, MD-10-30F, DC-10-10, DC-10-10F, DC-10-15, DC-10-30, DC-10-30F (KC-10A and KDC-10), DC-10-40, and DC-10-40F planes”.
A previous Airworthiness Directive was issued on November 8, 2025, to all McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and MD-11F operators after UPS Flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), killing 14 people, including all three crew and 11 on the ground.
The directive formalized a step already taken by the two largest MD-11 operators, UPS and FedEx.
The FAA was prompted to issue the directive after the left-hand engine and pylon detached from the plane during takeoff.
“The cause of the detachment is currently under investigation. This condition could result in loss of continued safe flight and landing,” said the FAA.
Explaining the latest Airworthiness Directive, the agency said it was “issuing this emergency AD because the agency has determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design”.
According to the FAA, the updated directive affects 10 additional US registered planes. Flightradar24 identified eight affected aircraft that had flown in the last two months.
These included four aerial firefighting DC-10s, two aircraft operated by Omega Air, one by Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, and one by TAB Cargo.
An ongoing investigation into the UPS crash is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
