UPS retires fleet of MD-11 aircraft involved in deadly Kentucky crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — UPS announced Tuesday that it has retired its fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo planes just months after one crashed during takeoff, causing 15 deaths in Louisville.

CEO Carol Tome said during a fourth-quarter earnings call that UPS decided to “accelerate our plans and retire all MD-11 aircraft in our fleet."

The Nov. 4 Louisville crash killed the plane’s three-person crew and 12 others on the ground just outside the Muhammad Ali International Airport. The plane's left engine had fallen off the wing, and the plane was able to climb only about 30 feet (9 meters) before crashing.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all MD-11s after the crash. An agency statement Tuesday said the FAA continues to review “all the facts and circumstances” in deciding whether MD-11s would be allowed to fly again.

MD-11s made up about 9% of the UPS fleet, and the company incurred an after-tax charge of $137 million in writing them off, Tome said.

Tome said the company would be receiving 18 new Boeing 767s in the next 15 months to rebuild. She said during the peak holiday season, UPS had to bring in aircraft from other parts of the world, increase ground transportation volume and lease additional planes.

“I am incredibly proud of our team at Worldport and how they responded to this accident,” Tome said. “And I would like to thank the Louisville community as well as our business and industry partners for their outpouring of support.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators found cracks in some of the parts that held the engine to the wing of the UPS plane. Those cracks hadn’t been caught in regular maintenance. The last inspection on those key engine mount parts was 2021.

The crash had a devastating impact in Louisville, striking and causing smaller explosions at a nearby Kentucky Petroleum Recycling plant and hitting an auto salvage yard, Grade A Auto Parts, where many of the victims were visiting or working.