NTSB: Fatigue cracks found in UPS Plane that crashed in Louisville

Federal investigators have released preliminary findings on what caused a UPS cargo plane to crash moments after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, killing 14 people.

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The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on Flight 2976 just days after wrapping up the on-site investigation.

The new report reveals that fatigue cracks in a critical engine mounting hardware led to the catastrophic failure of UPS Flight 2976 on November 4, 2025.

According to the NTSB report, the left engine separated from the wing of the MD-11F shortly after the plane rotated for takeoff from runway 17R around 5:14 p.m.

Airport surveillance video captured the engine breaking away and catching fire before hitting the ground.

"A fire ignited near the area of the left pylon attachment to the wing, which continued until ground impact," the report states.

The plane managed to clear the blast fence at the end of the runway but never climbed higher than about 30 feet above ground level, according to data from the flight data recorder. The left landing gear struck the roof of a UPS Supply Chain Solutions warehouse at the southern edge of the airport. The aircraft then hit a storage yard and two other buildings, including a petroleum recycling facility.

All three crew members aboard the plane were killed, along with 11 people on the ground. Another 23 people on the ground were injured, two of them seriously.

The critical failure

According to the report, NTSB investigators found evidence of fatigue cracking in the left pylon's aft mount, which is one of three connection points securing the engine to the wing.

"After initial cleaning of the fracture surfaces, examination of the left pylon aft mount lug fractures found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure," the report states.

The aft mount assembly includes forward and aft lugs that house a spherical bearing connecting to the wing. Both lugs fractured, and the spherical bearing's outer race also broke apart. The fractured upper portions of both lugs were found on the runway, while the wing clevis, bearing, and attachment hardware were recovered at the main crash site about 3,000 feet away.

Maintenance history

The aircraft had accumulated about 92,992 flight hours and 21,043 cycles at the time of the crash, according to the report.

The last detailed visual inspection of the left pylon aft mount was completed on October 28, 2021- nearly four years before the accident. The NTSB notes that two special detailed inspections were not yet due.

A lubrication task for the pylon bearings had been completed just weeks before the crash, on October 18, 2025, the report states.

Experienced Crew

The three pilots aboard Flight 2976 were all experienced aviators, according to the NTSB. The captain, who was pilot monitoring, had about 8,613 total flight hours, including nearly 5,000 hours in the MD-11. The first officer, who was flying the aircraft, had about 9,200 total hours with nearly 1,000 in the MD-11. The relief officer had logged about 15,250 total hours, with more than 8,700 in the MD-11.

Both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were successfully recovered and downloaded, with the CVR capturing the entire accident flight.

Similarities to another crash

The NTSB report notes similarities to American Airlines Flight 191, which crashed on May 25, 1979, shortly after takeoff from Chicago O'Hare International Airport. In that accident, the left engine and pylon separated from a DC-10 during takeoff rotation, causing the plane to roll left and crash, killing 271 people aboard and two on the ground.

The DC-10 was the predecessor to the MD-11, which was developed from that earlier design.

The NTSB emphasizes that its investigation of UPS Flight 2976 remains ongoing and that the information in this preliminary report is subject to change.

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