UPS Indefinitely Grounds All Its MD-11’s – 9% Of Firm’s Fleet Out For Peak Delivery Season

UPS will have to manage the peak package delivery season of the year with 9% of its air fleet sitting idle, after the firm announced it will indefinitely ground all its McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo jets in the wake of a spectacular disaster in Louisville on Nov. 4 that took 14 lives. 

“Regarding the MD-11 fleet, Boeing’s ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” wrote UPS Airlines President Bill Moore in a memo to employees obtained by AP. Boeing became the manufacturer of the three-engine MD-11 cargo jets after a 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas. The move follows a catastrophic failure that saw the left engine detach from the wing of a UPS MD-11 taking off in Louisville. 

There are 109 MD-11 still in service — all of them with package carriers. They comprise 9% of the UPS fleet compared to 4% of FedEx’s. Anticipating an FAA directive, UPS, Fedex and other companies grounded their MD-11’s after the horrific crash in Louisville earlier this month. A UPS spokesperson said the firm will compensate for the the lost idle resources by activating contingency plans, adding that UPS “will take the time needed to ensure that every aircraft is safe.”  It was originally hoped that the FAA-mandated inspection-and-repair process would take weeks, but now it’s expected to consume months. 

WATCH: Dash cam video shows UPS plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky pic.twitter.com/dZdpus1fxu

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Depending on mounting expenses of that undertaking, the disaster may well seal the fate of the jets, which were first unveiled in 1984, initially serving as passenger liners. The jets’ service record in that capacity includes a terrible disaster that’s disturbingly similar to what just unfolded in Louisville: In 1979, an American Airlines MD-11 crashed after taking off from Chicago O’Hare. Just like the plane that crashed on Nov. 4, the American Airlines MD-11 lost its left engine during takeoff. All 271 people aboard the plane were killed, along with two on the ground.

Last week, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board released frame-by-frame images showing the left engine of the UPS MD-11F freighter separating from the aircraft in Louisville. NTSB’s preliminary report showed the left engine (No. 1) and entire pylon assembly tore away from the wing immediately after rotation — the act of raising the nose of the jet at takeoff — igniting into a massive fireball.

With the wing on fire, the air freighter managed only about 30 feet above ground level before losing lift. It cleared the blast fence on Runway 17 Right at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, but struck the roof of a UPS warehouse with its left main gear, then crashed into a nearby industrial park. All three crew members were killed, along with 11 people on the ground.