UPS plane that crashed in Louisville showed 'fatigue cracks' and 'overstress failure,' NTSB finds

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report Thursday of the UPS flight that crashed in Louisville, finding the left engine pylon showed "fatigue cracks" and "overstress failure" on the 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

The crash of UPS Flight 2976 on Nov. 4 killed three pilots and 11 more people on the ground. Twenty-three others on the ground were injured.

New images in the report show the plane's left engine flying off while the plane attempted to take off from one of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport's west runways. According to altitude data recovered from the crash site, the NTSB said the plane never got more than 30 feet off the ground before crashing into an industrial site just south of the airport.

The initial investigation shows the plane cleared the fence at the end of the runway, but its landing gear hit the roof of a UPS warehouse off Grade Lane and then an oil recycling facility just past it. The plane then went down, leaving a trail of debris about 3,000 feet long.

Plane parts recovered by NTSB investigators from the crash site showed fractures on lugs from the left pylon holding the engine onto the plane. At the time of the crash, the plane had accumulated nearly 93,000 hours of flight time and 21,043 cycles. The NTSB said an inspection of the pylon thrust links and bearings was conducted Oct. 18, 2025, but the plane hadn't yet reached the life at which a "special detailed inspection" is due, which is 29,200 cycles.

Specifically, the NTSB said investigators found:

On the aft lug, on both the inboard and outboard fracture surfaces, a fatigue crack was observed where the aft lug bore met the aft lug forward face.
For the forward lug's inboard fracture surface, fatigue cracks were observed along the lug bore.
For the forward lug's outboard fracture surface, the fracture consisted entirely of overstress with no indications of fatigue cracking.

The NTSB's preliminary report doesn't specify whether the flaws found in the plane parts contributed to the crash or were caused by it.

In the aftermath of the crash, federal aviation officials issued an order for MD-11, MD-10 and DC-10 planes not to be flown pending further inspection. According to the directive from the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft have similar unsafe conditions, like "loss of continued safe flight and landing," and will need to be inspected.

UPS Flight 2976 was fully loaded with fuel for the nine-hour flight to Honolulu from UPS Worldport at the airport. The NTSB confirmed the "black box" inside the UPS plane recorded a "repeating bell" sound for the final 25 seconds of the flight.

You can read the full report below:

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Prelim NTSB report about UPS Crash in Louisville

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, which NTSB member Todd Inman confirmed during a news conference in Louisville the week after the crash. Three different reports were filed in early September. One shows the "center wing upper fuel tank" had a crack in it and needed a permanent repair. The other two reports reveal corrosion in the plane's center cargo area.

Inman said while the flight that crashed was delayed two hours, there's currently no evidence that a maintenance issue played a role prior to takeoff. He said the work in San Antonio could be classified as a "heavy check," adding that they've dispatched additional people to retrieve extensive records from the repairs.

The full CRV audio won't be released by the NTSB, which is standard protocol. But Inman said a CVR group, made up of technical experts on the MD-11, will convene at NTSB headquarters and produce a written transcript of pertinent information. However, Inman said in may be "several months" before that's released.

The week after the flight, Jefferson County Coroner Jo-Ann Farmer released the identities of the 14 victims:

Capt. Dana Diamond, 62
Capt. Richard Wartenberg, 57
First Officer Lee Truitt, 45
Angela Anderson, 45
Carlos Fernandez, 52
Louisnes Fedon, 47
Kimberly Asa, 3 (granddaughter of Louisnes Fedon)
Trinadette "Trina" Chavez, 37
Tony Crain, 65
John Loucks, 52
John Spray Jr., 45
Matthew Sweets, 37
Ella Petty Whorton, 31
Megan Washburn, 35

The NTSB report said Truitt was flying the plane. Diamond was "monitoring."

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's office set up a relief fund for those affected by the crash and its aftermath. To donate, click here.

Similarities to 1979 American Airlines crash

The NTSB specifically pointed to a 1979 crash in Chicago in comparison to this month's Louisville crash. On May 25, 1979, an American Airlines flight crashed leaving Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, killing all 271 people on board and two more on the ground.

The federal investigation found the left engine and pylon came off the plane and fell to the runway. The pilots climbed to 325 feet, but the plane banked sharply to the left and rolled until the wings were past vertical. Shortly thereafter, the nose pitched down, crashing the plane into a field just northwest of the airport and near a trailer park.