UPS cargo jet crash in Kentucky kills 15, triggers MD-11 grounding

A UPS cargo jet lifted off from Louisville and, seconds later, tore into a storage yard and two buildings with such force that 15 people were eventually dead and 23 others on the ground were injured. The Boeing McDonnell-Douglas MD-11F, UPS Flight 2976, crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 17R at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport at about 5:14 p.m. EST on Nov. 4, 2025, while bound for Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the three crewmembers aboard the plane and 11 people on the ground were killed in the crash. A 15th victim, Alain Rodriguez Colina, later died of injuries on Dec. 25, 2025, bringing the death toll to 15. The aircraft had climbed only about 30 feet before impact, a sequence that left little time for recovery once the takeoff went bad.

Preliminary findings point to a catastrophic failure in the aircraft’s left side during the takeoff roll. The NTSB said the left engine and left pylon separated from the wing, and a fire ignited near the left pylon attachment area before continuing until ground impact. Investigators later noted signs of fatigue cracks and over-stress failure in the left engine pylon, details that have put the structure and maintenance history of the aging freighter under close scrutiny.

The crash struck at the heart of Louisville, where UPS is a major hometown employer and its global aviation hub sits at the center of the company’s network. Recovery work, environmental cleanup and litigation have continued for months as the city copes with the loss and the disruption around one of its most important industrial sites.

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all MD-11 aircraft after the crash until they were inspected. Boeing said about 70 MD-11s were in service at the time, operated by UPS, FedEx and Western Global, turning the Louisville accident into a wider safety question for the cargo industry. The investigation now includes the FAA, UPS, Boeing, the Independent Pilots Association, GE Aerospace, Teamsters Airline Division and Collins Aerospace, as officials work to determine why the left engine assembly failed and whether anything in the aircraft’s design, maintenance or inspection regime should have caught it before takeoff.