A cargo aircraft model involved in a Kentucky crash last autumn has resumed operations following a tragic incident where an engine detached from a UPS jet during takeoff.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing’s solution for the MD-11 aircraft has been greenlit after a thorough evaluation. Consequently, FedEx has reinstated these planes into their delivery routes as of Sunday.
The UPS aircraft met disaster in November 2025, when its left engine dislodged from the wing amidst takeoff, leading to a catastrophic crash. The incident resulted in the deaths of three pilots aboard the Hawaii-bound plane, along with 12 individuals on the ground in the vicinity of Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Boeing crafted a strategy to replace a critical spherical bearing and enhance inspections of the engine-mounting components. The National Transportation Safety Board noted that Boeing had identified four similar failures in 2011 on the MD-11’s engine mounts across different aircraft but concluded it did not pose an immediate flight safety risk. Originally produced by McDonnell Douglas, these aircraft came under Boeing’s umbrella following an acquisition.
Following the crash, the FAA grounded all MD-11 aircraft due to safety concerns. Earlier this year, UPS decided to retire its entire MD-11 fleet, which constituted about 9% of their total aircraft. However, FedEx remained determined to reinstate these planes, which represent approximately 4% of its fleet. Meanwhile, Western Global Airlines, another MD-11 operator, has not publicly commented on the incident or the FAA’s recent approval and did not respond to inquiries.
FedEx said in a statement that it worked closely with Boeing, the FAA and its own experts to inspect and repair its planes, and the government certified that it had complied with Boeing’s recommendations. It owns 46 of these planes though even before the crash it had been storing more than two dozen of them.
“Safety is our highest priority at FedEx,” the company said.
But FedEx does plan to eventually retire its MD-11s and replace them with more efficient models. They had announced that long-term plan even before the crash.
Aviation lawyers who are representing some of the families that have sued over the Louisville crash said they hope the FAA made sure these planes will be safe.
“We hope the FAA does a thorough job of investigating the fixes before the MD-11 fleet is allowed to return to flight,” lawyer Bradley Cosgrove said.
But aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said he’s surprised it took this long to get these planes flying again given how quickly the NTSB identified key concerns that likely contributed to the engine falling off. The NTSB is planning two days of investigative hearings on the UPS crash next week to delve deeper into what happened.
“I’m confident that the solution will work, and I would like to see the MD-11s back up in the air. It will be a safe airplane with regards to its engines after these corrective actions are made,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA.
Some experts speculated after the crash that the MD-11s might never fly again if the repair proved to be more expensive that it was worth in these older planes. But Boeing found a way to address the safety concerns with just replacing the bearing and stepping up inspections.
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