UPS, FedEx Ground MD-11 Fleets After UPS Crash Kills 14

Overview

• Both carriers said the stand-down follows a recommendation from the aircraft’s manufacturer, with MD-11s making up about 9% of UPS’s fleet and 4% of FedEx’s.
• NTSB briefings reported a cockpit alarm captured about 37 seconds after the crew requested takeoff power, followed by a left-wing fire and separation of the left engine.
• Investigators said the inquiry will take months, with formal analysis of cockpit voice and flight data still to come.
• Authorities located the flight recorders for analysis in Washington, and multiple cellphone, dashcam, and security videos provide additional angles of the accident sequence.
• Flight records indicate the jet spent more than a month in maintenance in San Antonio through mid-October, and Cirium notes Western Global is the only other U.S. cargo operator of the MD-11, with most of its 16 airframes retired.