Earlier this week's UPS cargo plane crash that claimed a total of 14 lives has sounded an alarm in the aviation industry across the globe. The UPS Flight 2976 burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on its way to Honolulu on Tuesday evening, November 4.
FAA orders grounding of all MD-11
Following this devastating incident, UPS has temporarily grounded its whole fleet of MD-11 cargo planes, complying with the order issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has also ordered an immediate inspection of all the grounded MD-11s.
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UPS has shared through a social media post on X(formerly Twitter) saying, "Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet. Find the full statement in our newsroom."
According to a Reuters report, tracking data from the flight showed that from 3 September to 18 October, the plane was grounded at San Antonio, Texas. Flight records noted that the plane was undergoing maintenance during that time, though it was still unclear what kind of maintenance work was done.
Boeing issues advisory
The flight crashed near an industrial area roughly six miles south of downtown Louisville, home to Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant, UPS Worldport, and Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, one of the businesses directly affected by the plane crash.
The crashed flight, McDonnell Douglas MD-11, is a trijet widebody aircraft, one of the widely used cargo freighters across the aviation industry. Initially developed by McDonnell Douglas, later acquired by Boeing.
According to Reuters, besides UPS, FedEx has also grounded its entire fleet of MD-11 cargo planes, bringing it to 50 aircraft following a recommendation issued by the aircraft's manufacturer, Boeing.
The ongoing investigation is looking into the accident to identify any critical issues that might have caused the cargo freighter to turn into a burning fireball in the sky.
