The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened a two-day investigative hearing on May 19 into the Nov. 4, 2025, crash of UPS Flight 2976, a Boeing MD-11F that crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The accident resulted in the deaths of three crew members and twelve people on the ground; twenty-three others were injured at the time, including one who later died, according to the NTSB.
The focus of the hearing was on technical details related to pylon failure. Airport surveillance video showed that the aircraft’s left engine and pylon separated soon after takeoff rotation. An NTSB animation described fatigue cracking in the outer race of a spherical bearing in the left pylon aft mount, followed by cracking and fracture of mount lugs. The sequence ended with footage showing full detachment as captured by airport security cameras. The aircraft briefly climbed to about thirty feet above ground level before striking buildings and terrain south of the runway.
Investigators said that UPS’s maintenance program for its MD-11 fleet included general and detailed visual inspections every seventy-two months while pylons remained installed on wings. The last such inspections for this aircraft occurred in 2021 by ST Engineering San Antonio Aerospace; lubrication was last performed in October 2025. NTSB staff reported finding nine prior operator reports involving ten instances of fractured or migrated pylon aft mount bearing outer races on other MD-11 or MD-11F planes.
Testimony during the first day addressed how structural anomalies are documented and shared among operators, maintenance providers, Boeing, and federal authorities. Investigators found records indicating only two earlier reports were formally reviewed through Boeing’s continued operational safety process; both cases were deemed not to present a safety-of-flight issue by Boeing. Witnesses also discussed service difficulty report requirements and challenges with data quality due to inconsistent part names or coding practices.
Witnesses from FAA, UPS, Boeing, Teamsters union, and ST Engineering outlined processes for identifying defects as well as limitations in trend analysis when service difficulty reporting is sparse or inconsistently entered into databases. Following this accident, post-crash inspections found migrated bearing races on three additional UPS MD-11s and one DC-10; subsequently FAA grounded all affected models pending inspection and replacement actions.
UPS has since retired its entire MD-11 fleet while FedEx resumed operating its own MD-11s following FAA-approved inspection procedures.
