LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey is calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to permanently ground McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft following a deadly UPS crash in Louisville.
In a letter sent Friday, the Kentucky congressman pointed to the crash of UPS Flight 2976 on Nov. 4, 2025. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo plane, built in 1991, went down around 5:15 p.m. after its left wing caught fire. The aircraft, fully fueled for a nine-hour flight to Honolulu, had just departed from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Fifteen people, including three pilots, were killed.
McGarvey wrote that since 1990, at least 10 MD-11 accidents have resulted in total aircraft loss. According to Boeing, that represents the highest loss rate of any commercial jet still operating in the United States.
“Investigators, pilots, and operators have continuously documented the aircraft’s tendencies toward instability on landing, center-of-gravity sensitivity, and structural stress around the engine pylons,” McGarvey said. “Multiple cargo carriers have already decided that the aircraft poses unacceptable risk and have since retired the aircraft from their fleets voluntarily.”
In the days following the crash, UPS and FedEx grounded their MD-11 fleets as a precaution. The FAA also issued a directive requiring inspections and necessary repairs before the aircraft could return to service. In January, UPS announced it had officially retired its MD-11 fleet.
“With a clear trend of users phasing out the MD-11, the FAA is one of the last major entities to have taken no action on removing this aircraft from commercial service,” McGarvey said.
While the FAA grounded remaining MD-11 aircraft after the crash and ordered inspections, it has not issued a permanent ban — a step McGarvey said is justified based on the aircraft’s structural concerns and declining use.
“We have a collective responsibility to ensure that no additional lives are put at risk by an aircraft whose design and operational history have repeatedly demonstrated an unacceptable level of danger,” he said.
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found the plane’s left engine caught fire and detached during takeoff. Investigators identified fatigue cracks and overstress failure in the component that secured the engine to the wing. The aircraft reached only about 30 feet in the air before crashing and erupting into flames, striking several businesses south of the airport.
An NTSB investigative hearing is scheduled for May 19–20 in Washington, D.C., and will be livestreamed. The agency said such hearings help gather information to determine the causes and circumstances of transportation accidents.
Flight data shows the 34-year-old aircraft underwent maintenance in San Antonio for more than a month before the crash, though details of the work remain unclear. Reports indicate the plane required a critical fuel tank repair before returning to service.
Investigators also found that the failed engine component had been a known issue within Boeing’s service records. A 2011 service letter referenced multiple bearing failures but concluded they did not pose a flight safety risk. The original component design remained approved for use, though inspections were recommended at regular intervals.
Several lawsuits have been filed against UPS, General Electric, Boeing, and the company responsible for maintenance, including one from the widow of a pilot killed in the crash.
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