Federal investigators are examining a rare and catastrophic mechanical failure after a UPS MD-11 cargo aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people \u2014 three crew members and 11 individuals on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to preliminary findings, the aircraft\u2019s left engine detached from the wing during rotation, just seconds after pilots applied full power for takeoff on Runway 17R. Surveillance footage shows the engine, still attached to its pylon, rising over the fuselage while engulfed in flames before falling to the ground near the runway. The jet, struggling to climb more than 30\u2013100 feet, lost control and crashed within moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that investigators have found fatigue cracks in the aft mount of the engine pylon, including fractures in the front and rear lugs and damage to the spherical bearing \u2014 a structural failure believed to have triggered the mid-air separation. The MD-11 had undergone its last major inspection in October 2021 and still had 7,000 cycles before its next mandatory structural check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expert: \u201cThere was nothing the crew could have done\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aviation expert and wide-body jet pilot Marco Bernasconi, who has flown heavy aircraft across Africa, Europe, and Asia, says the sequence of events left the crew powerless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe MD-11 can fly with one engine out. It is certified for that,\u201d Bernasconi explained. \u201cBut in this case, the engine didn\u2019t simply fail \u2014 it separated and struck the wing, causing severe structural damage. There was nothing a qualified crew could have done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bernasconi emphasized that pilots perform external walk-around inspections, but structural cracks deep inside an engine pylon can only be detected with specialized maintenance tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFatigue cracks often start deep within the metal and may not be visible during normal inspections. Detecting them requires advanced equipment or non-destructive testing methods,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The terrifying seconds after rotation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cockpit voice recordings captured an engine alarm 37 seconds after power application. By then, the engine had already detached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aircraft barely climbed to 9 meters (about 30 feet), battling massive thrust asymmetry and drag from the missing engine. According to Bernasconi, even perfect pilot reaction would not have altered the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe most important action in an engine failure at takeoff is maintaining directional control. But when an engine separates and damages the wing, the aircraft becomes uncontrollable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entire MD-11 fleet grounded<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n UPS and other operators have temporarily grounded all MD-11 aircraft as the FAA evaluates whether inspection intervals must be revised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bernasconi expects regulators to take immediate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaintenance procedures will need to be reviewed, especially for older airframes with high cycles. Enhanced pylon inspections or structural reinforcements are likely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could this accelerate the MD-11\u2019s retirement?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With the MD-11 already considered an aging freighter, the accident could push some operators to hasten its phase-out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf maintenance becomes too costly or complex, companies may decide to retire the model altogether,\u201d Bernasconi noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aviation still remains safe, experts stress<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the dramatic imagery and tragic loss of life, experts caution the public not to lose confidence in air travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvents like this are extremely rare. Aviation is still one of the safest modes of transportation in the world,\u201d Bernasconi affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wake-up call for aging cargo fleets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As final investigations continue, Bernasconi says the lesson is clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOlder aircraft need deeper and more frequent inspections, especially in areas prone to fatigue. Heavy cargo operations place enormous stress on structural components,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NTSB will release its final report in the coming months, and Bernasconi says he is prepared to collaborate further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Federal investigators are examining a rare and catastrophic mechanical failure after a UPS MD-11 cargo aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people \u2014 three crew members and 11 individuals on the ground. According to preliminary findings, the aircraft\u2019s left engine detached from the wing during rotation, just seconds after pilots applied […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[3878,3877,3880,3876,3879],"class_list":["post-8990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-aviation-investigation","tag-engine-failure","tag-fatal-aircraft-incident","tag-louisville-plane-crash","tag-mid-takeoff-accident"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8990"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8993,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8990\/revisions\/8993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miaminewsnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}