Overview
- The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive that prohibits MD-11 and MD-11F flights until inspections and corrective actions are completed, citing an unsafe condition likely to exist in the type.
- UPS and FedEx had already parked their MD-11 fleets on Boeing’s recommendation, affecting about 9% of UPS aircraft and roughly 4% at FedEx, with contingency plans activated to limit service disruption.
- NTSB investigators say the left engine and its pylon detached during takeoff; both recorders were recovered, and cockpit audio captured a repeating warning bell for about 25 seconds as the jet climbed to roughly 100 feet.
- Investigators are reviewing recent heavy maintenance in San Antonio, including reports of a cracked center wing upper fuel tank and corrosion, as they analyze the detached engine and other wreckage.
- Officials report 14 fatalities with all previously missing people accounted for, as the probe continues and operators prepare inspections that could keep the aging tri-jet type grounded for a period.