UPDATE: Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.
A new report from the National Transportation Safety Board reveals new details about the UPS cargo plane crash that killed 14 people in Louisville earlier this month.
According to the preliminary NTSB report released on Thursday, fatigue cracks and areas of overstress failure were found on a part that attaches the engine to the aircraft wing. Newly released photos in the report show the plane catching fire and the progression of the engine separating from the aircraft.
Gov. Andy Beshear said he has briefly reviewed the report and has questions about the findings.
"Certainly, what jumps out is the fatigue or stress cracks. I want to learn a little bit more about what that means," Beshear said. "I do know that the plane had undergone, at least from what I read, regular suggested maintenance and reviews."
When asked whether UPS bears responsibility for the crash, Beshear emphasized the company's role in helping victims and their families.
"In the end, this was a UPS plane that was involved, so UPS needs to be a part of the healing and to help the families," Beshear said.
The NTSB investigation is ongoing, and the report released is preliminary. Beshear said he is monitoring the situation and is pleased that UPS is communicating directly with affected families.
"We're watching the situation, but I am at least pleased that UPS is directly communicating with families, with those impacted and we'll continue to hope and encourage them to do their part to rebuild," Beshear said.
Original Story:
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary findings on the Louisville UPS plane crash that resulted in the death of 14 people when the aircraft's left engine reportedly separated from the wing during rotation.
The report detailed that United Parcel Service flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F bound for Honolulu, was destroyed after the left engine and pylon detached from the wing moments after the plane began its takeoff roll from runway 17R at around 5:15 p.m.
Airport surveillance video captured the dramatic sequence showing the left engine separating from the wing, igniting a fire that continued as the aircraft briefly climbed to about 30 feet above ground level before crashing into multiple buildings south of the airport.
"The airplane initially climbed but did not get higher than about 30 ft above ground level according to radio altitude data," the NTSB report stated.
The aircraft cleared the runway's blast fence but struck a UPS Supply Chain Solutions warehouse with its left main landing gear before impacting a storage yard, petroleum recycling facility, and additional buildings. The wreckage spread across around 3,000 feet and was largely consumed by fire, the report added.
NTSB investigators found evidence of "fatigue cracks" in the left pylon's aft mount, which connects the engine to the wing, the report read. The spherical bearing that helps secure this connection had fractured circumferentially, according to materials laboratory examination.
The accident bears similarities to the 1979 crash of American Airlines flight 191 in Chicago, where a DC-10's left engine also separated during takeoff, killing 273 people. The MD-11 was developed from the DC-10 design.
UPS grounded its entire MD-11 fleet on November 7 as a precautionary measure. The Federal Aviation Administration issued emergency directives prohibiting further flights of MD-11 and DC-10 aircraft until inspections and corrective actions are completed, according to the report.
The aircraft had accumulated 92,992 flight hours and 21,043 cycles at the time of the accident. Maintenance records showed required special detailed inspections of the pylon components had not been completed, though they were not yet due based on the aircraft's cycle count.
Both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were successfully recovered and analyzed. The investigation remains ongoing.
