LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A lawsuit filed Monday by the family of a man killed in the crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville last year claims UPS and Boeing "put their profits over people."
In a news release, attorneys announced the lawsuit filed on behalf of Matthew Hagan Sweets' family against the two companies, as well as General Electric and VT San Antonio Aerospace, Inc. — the company that performed maintenance on the plane.
"A company's character is not built in a crisis; it's revealed. Once again, the revelation is one of a company putting profits over people," attorneys John Spalding and Alex White said. "This lawsuit exists because Boeing, UPS, and others did just that — put their profits over people."
The lawsuit seeks damages for wrongful death, pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish and loss of consortium, accusing the companies of negligence.
"We believe companies entrusted with the safety of the skies overhead owe everyone below them and everyone aboard their aircraft the highest duty of care there is," attorneys said. "We believe that when they become aware of a known danger, they have an obligation to be forthright and act on it, not bury it beneath convenience or their bottom line. When they fail in that duty, they must face the consequences."
Sweets was one of 15 people, including three pilots, who died when the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo plane, built in 1991, went down around 5:15 p.m. Nov. 4, 2025, after its left wing caught fire. The plane was fully loaded with fuel for the nine-hour flight to Honolulu from UPS Worldport at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
NTSB Preliminary report | Victims identified | What's next
The NTSB's preliminary report said the plane's left engine caught fire and detached during takeoff. In that report, the agency's investigation revealed the part that secured the engine showed "fatigue cracks" and overstress failure across much of the bearing race inside the area that attached the plane's left engine to its wing. Investigators said the UPS plane got only 30 feet into the air before it crashed and burst into flames, hitting several businesses just south of the airport.
Twelve of the victims who died were either employees or customers of Grade A Auto Parts. The lawsuit states Sweets was one of those customers at the business, "directly in the path of the aircraft and the resulting explosions and fire." Twenty-three other people were injured.
"Matt was just one of the 15 souls who were taken from us that day, but his story stands apart. Matt survived the initial crash and walked out of the flames and explosions; however, he suffered third-degree burns on nearly his entire body," attorneys said. "Matt endured unimaginable suffering while his family stayed by his side, watching him fight for two days before he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. His partner, two young children, parents, and sisters continue to live with the unimaginable loss of a son, father, brother and partner."
The UPS cargo plane was nearly airborne when a bell sounded in the cockpit, the NTSB said. For the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the aircraft as it barely lifted off the runway, its left wing ablaze and missing an engine, and then plowed into the ground in a fireball.
"This is about honoring Matt and pursuing justice for his family," attorneys said. "It's about seeking accountability for those responsible and helping ensure that no other family is forced to endure an unnecessary loss like this."
The lawsuit is the latest to be filed in connection with the deadly UPS plane crash. In May, 15 additional lawsuits representing more than 100 plaintiffs were filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of victims' families, injured survivors and business owners seeking damages.
Several lawsuits were filed in the weeks and months after the crash against UPS, General Electric, Boeing and the company that did maintenance on the plane. Those include a lawsuit filed by the widow of one of the plane's pilots.
In June, attorneys representing five families who lost loved ones in the crash said progress in the case has stalled because UPS is trying to move the lawsuits out of Jefferson Circuit Court and into federal court.
In court filings, UPS argues the company's principal place of business is in Atlanta, Georgia, making federal court the proper venue.
UPS’ filings align with its latest Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report, which lists Atlanta as the company's principal executive office.
But attorneys argue the airline is Kentucky-based, pointing to UPS Worldport — which employs around 20,000 people in Louisville — along with the company’s corporate office on North Hurstbourne Parkway and FAA filings connecting its flight operations to Kentucky.
Federal investigators have said fatigue cracks in key engine mount components contributed to the crash. During recent NTSB hearings, investigators questioned Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration about whether design flaws and inspection failures helped cause the disaster. The NTSB’s final report is not expected for more than a year.
In their response to UPS, attorneys for the victims accused the company of trying to strategically avoid a local jury.
History of fractures
In May, the National Transportation Safety Board held a two-day investigative hearing in Washington as part of its investigation into the crash.
The NTSB says the left engine and pylon of the plane separated after the takeoff rotation. The pylon is the structure that connects the engine to the wing of the plane. Investigators examining the wreckage after the crash found cracks in some parts of the pylon.
Since 2002, operators caught 10 fractures before takeoff on the same part that broke in the UPS crash. Only four were reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.
"Don't you think the FAA should have had the information that you had fractured races one, two, three, four times?" NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy asked Boeing representatives during the agency's investigative hearing in Washington.
In 2008, Boeing wrote a service letter about the part that failed but did not require replacement and said it did not impact the "safety of flight condition." But another document from one month later shows Boeing told a maintenance company the pylon must be removed and replaced before the plane flew again.
UPS says it was kept in the dark.
"If we would've known that at UPS, we would've asked a lot of different questions at UPS," said David Springer, senior director of engineering at United Parcel Service.
Crew switched planes before crash
The first day of the NTSB's investigative hearings revealed the UPS crew switched planes before taking off in the MD-11 that would eventually crash just after takeoff. The plane was fully loaded with fuel for the nine-hour flight to Honolulu from UPS Worldport at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
The ill-fated plane was cleared for flight after a fuel leak sidelined the crew's original plane. Among the hundreds of pages of interview transcripts released by the NTSB, one said that during the second plane's pre-flight inspection, the flight crew shared good-natured banter with the maintenance team about "meeting again" so soon.
Dramatic images the NTSB released after the crash showed the engine detaching as flames erupted on the wing. The plane was already ablaze as it briefly got airborne, leaving behind trails of smoke.
Examining the wreckage, investigators found cracks in some of the parts that held the engine to the wing, the NTSB said. Those cracks hadn't been caught in regular maintenance, which raised questions about the adequacy of the maintenance schedule. The last time those key engine mount parts were examined closely was in October 2021, and the plane wasn't due for another detailed inspection for roughly 7,000 more takeoffs and landings.
Warnings date to 1979 Chicago crash
The warnings stretch back further. In 1979, the engine detached from another McDonnell Douglas plane in Chicago, killing 273 people. It remains the deadliest plane crash in U.S. history.
The MD-11 was supposed to be an improvement to the DC-10, the type of plane that went down in the Chicago crash.
"How similar is the DC-10 design to the MD-11 in terms of the engine pylon design?" NTSB board member Chapman asked Justin Konopaske, director of airframe service engineering at Boeing.
"Very similar," Konopaske said.
Nearly 50 years ago, the NTSB held a hearing in the Chicago crash and made recommendations to improve safety that it says the FAA declined to follow.
"Is it still the FAA's position the NTSB's recommendations would not be worth it despite loss of 15 lives?" NTSB vice chairman Michael Graham asked.
"I think we would look at that recommendation differently in 2026 than in 1990 in regards to the cost benefit analysis," FAA manager Brian Knaup said.
Classification and inspection questions
Boeing did not classify the impacted part as a principal structural element, meaning it is critical to a safe flight. Brad Cosgrove, who represents those who lost loved ones in the Louisville crash, says that decision matters because classifying the part as critical would have required stricter inspections and more money.
"This is one of the classic cases of Boeing putting profits over individual safety," Cosgrove said.
The FAA testified it believes the failed part should have been classified as a principal structural element. The designation would require stricter inspections and oversight. Boeing has not reclassified the part.
Boeing says the failed part met fail-safe requirements, but at the hearing UPS questioned that.
"The accident establishes the lugs were not failsafe, correct?" a UPS representative asked Todd Martin, FAA airframe section manager.
"I would not agree. Failsafe only means if you fail one element, the other would be able to maintain limit load," Martin said.
After the crash, UPS inspected its MD-11 fleet and found the same problem on three other planes.
Industry acknowledges communication failures
Boeing, UPS and the FAA all acknowledged the same issue: When safety problems are found, the aviation industry has to do a better job making sure the right people know.
FAA and UPS officials said the reports they did get about problems related to the spherical bearings may not have included enough information. Springer said Boeing's service letters made the bearing problem "sound almost benign" and did not mention any of the collateral damage that could be caused to the lugs that attach the engine to the wing.
"Are you confident another accident wouldn't happen again?" Homendy asked Springer.
"No, we rely on the FAA or another agency that drives our priorities," Springer said.
"What's the next UPS? How do we make sure the next one doesn't occur?" Homendy asked.
Sean Garber, the owner of Grade A Auto Parts, said the hearing exposed failures at multiple levels.
"People just didn't do their jobs and they should be held accountable for this horrific tragedy," Garber said.
The plane crashed directly on top of the checkout area of Garber's scrapyard, killing three of his employees and nine of his customers.
Boeing service letter and maintenance history
A Boeing Service Letter dated Feb. 7, 2011, told operators the company was aware of four previous bearing race failures on three different airplanes. Boeing had seen the fractures of the bearing race, with the parts splitting in two and moving out of place.
Boeing said further regular inspection of MD-11 airplanes would include a look at this bearing assembly, something scheduled for 60-month service intervals. And while Boeing used that service letter to discuss a new bearing assembly configuration, the installation of the original parts "was not prohibited."
Flight records suggest the 34-year-old plane underwent maintenance while it was on the ground in San Antonio for more than a month, from September through mid-October. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the plane needed a critical fuel tank repair.
MD-11 planes grounded, then returned to service
Days after the crash, UPS and FedEx said they grounded their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11s "out of an abundance of caution." And the Federal Aviation Administration's directive the following day sidelined the planes until inspection and correction of any problems. In January, UPS announced that its fleet of the cargo plans are now officially retired.
The MD-11 cargo planes returned to the air after the FAA said it approved Boeing's proposed fix for the planes. The company developed a plan to replace a key spherical bearing and step up inspections of the parts that hold the engines to the wings.
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, a Democratic congressman from Kentucky, called on the FAA to ground the MD-11 planes for good following the deadly UPS crash in Louisville, citing the amount of crashes involving the planes since 1990 and cargo carriers already retiring the aircraft from their fleets over "unacceptable risk."
Since 1990, there have been at least 10 MD-11 crashes or accidents where the plane was damaged beyond repair.
The NTSB will likely release its final report around a year after the crash. That will include probable cause and recommendations.
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