The National Transportation Safety Board has released a new investigative update into the crash of UPS Airlines Flight 2976, providing additional detail on the structural failure that occurred shortly after takeoff.
The cargo flight crashed near Louisville, Kentucky, on November 4, 2025, after departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F, was destroyed and both pilots were killed.
In its latest update, the NTSB said examination of the wreckage confirmed that the aircraft’s left engine and its pylon separated from the wing moments after takeoff. Investigators determined that the separation occurred at the engine-to-wing attachment point, a critical structural area designed to support engine loads during all phases of flight.
According to the NTSB, detailed analysis conducted at the agency’s materials laboratory identified fatigue cracking in components associated with the left engine pylon attachment. Investigators found cracking that had developed over time, along with evidence of additional damage consistent with the structure failing under load once the final separation occurred.
Airport surveillance video reviewed by investigators shows the left engine and pylon detaching from the wing shortly after the aircraft lifted off. The video also captured a fire in the area of the left engine immediately following the separation, before the aircraft descended and impacted terrain.
The NTSB said both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered from the wreckage and are being used to reconstruct the final moments of the flight. Data from the recorders has helped investigators align recorded aircraft performance with physical evidence found at the accident site.
The update does not assign probable cause and does not identify responsibility for the failure. The NTSB emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing and will continue to examine maintenance history, inspection records, and certification standards related to the engine pylon structure.
The agency has not yet issued safety recommendations related to the findings, but the new information provides the clearest picture so far of the mechanical sequence that led to the loss of the aircraft.
UPS has said it is cooperating fully with the investigation.
Following the November 2025 crash, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that effectively grounded the global fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft pending inspections. Major operators, including UPS Airlines and FedEx Express, had already voluntarily removed their MD-11 freighters from service before the FAA action. The directive was later expanded to include related DC-10 and MD-10 variants because of shared engine pylon design features. Aircraft were permitted to return to service only after completing FAA-mandated inspections and corrective actions developed with support from Boeing. The grounding disrupted cargo operations during the peak shipping season but reflected regulators’ concern that the failure seen in the UPS crash could pose a broader risk across the fleet.
The MD-11F has been a mainstay of UPS’s long-haul cargo fleet for decades, and the crash has drawn close attention across the cargo aviation sector, particularly regarding aging aircraft structures and inspection practices. The NTSB said further updates will be released as additional analysis is completed.
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