Investigators say UPS plane that crashed in Kentucky, killing 14, had cracks in engine mount

Federal investigators released dramatic photos Thursday of an engine flying off a doomed UPS cargo plane that crashed two weeks ago, killing 14 people in Kentucky, and said there was evidence of cracks in the left wing’s engine mount.

The MD-11 plane got only 30 feet off the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board said, citing the flight data recorder in its first formal but preliminary report about the Nov. 4 disaster in Louisville, Ky.

Three pilots on the plane were killed along with 11 more people on the ground near Muhammad Ali International Airport.

The NTSB said the plane was not due yet for a detailed inspection of key engine mount parts that had fractures. It still needed to complete nearly 7,000 more takeoffs and landings. It was last examined in October 2021.

“It appears UPS was conducting this maintenance within the required time frame, but I’m sure the FAA is now going to ponder whether that time frame is adequate,” aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti told the Associated Press after reading the report.

A series of photos released by the NTSB shows the left engine coming off the UPS plane and flying up and over the wing as it rolled down the runway. The final image shows the plane slightly airborne with its left wing ablaze.

Earlier this week, Bill Moore, president of UPS Airlines, an arm of UPS, said the company is working with investigators to determine the “root cause” of the crash.

“Once we determine that, then they’ll be able to develop an inspection plan,” Moore said at a news conference in Louisville. “Can we inspect it? If so, how do we repair it? How do we put it back together? And then eventually return the fleet to service. But that’s not going to happen quickly.”

UPS said it has grounded its fleet of MD-11s and is using other aircraft during the busy holiday season.

Funk and White write for the Associated Press.