NTSB cites hardware fatigue, overstress failure in UPS plane crash
The crash is the deadliest in the history of UPS and created a burn field of about one square mile and killed the three crewmembers on board, 11 on the ground and injured 23 others, according to USA Today.
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Leirim Rodrigues was in the car with her husband when they witnessed a low-flying plane crash into a petroleum recycling facility and an auto parts store, resulting in a raging inferno seen from miles around.
Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Fatigued and overly stressed connecting hardware likely caused the left engine to detach from a UPS cargo plane that crashed on Nov. 4 in Louisville, Ky., the National Transportation Safety Board announced on Thursday.
The NTSB's preliminary report says cracks caused by fatigue and signs of excessive mechanical stress were found in the connecting hardware that held the left engine to the wing, CNN reported.
"We continue to grieve for the lives lost in the tragic accident involving Flight 2976," UPS officials said Thursday in a statement.
"Before the FAA issued its Emergency Airworthiness Directive for all MD-11 operators, UPS proactively grounded its MD-11 fleet out of an abundance of caution," the statement continued.
"We appreciate the National Transportation Safety Board's prompt release of preliminary findings and will fully support the investigation through its conclusion."
The 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft had an engine mounted to each wing and another on the tail, like all other MD-11s, and recently underwent maintenance in San Antonio.
The engine-mounting hardware last was inspected in October 2021 and wasn't due for another inspection until the aircraft completed 7,000 more flights, the NTSB said, as reported by USA Today.
The NTSB's preliminary report compares the accident to a 1979 crash of a DC-10 in Chicago when an engine-support pylon became loose, severed a hydraulic line and caused a crash that killed 273 people.
The report also indicates pilot Capt. Richard Wartenberg was certified to fly MD-11 aircraft and had 8,613 hours of flight experience, including 4,918 in MD-11s.
The NTSB said First Officer Lee Truitt was controlling the plane during its takeoff attempt and also was certified to fly the MD-11, in which he had 994 hours of flight experience among his 9,200 total hours of flight experience.
Capt. Dana Diamond was the most experienced pilot on the aircraft with 15,250 hours of flight experience, including 8,775 in MD-11 planes, which he also was certified to fly.
With no apparent evidence of pilot errors, the NTSB report says the agency will continue investigating maintenance records on the aircraft.
Fourteen people died when the left engine on UPS Flight 2976 fell from the aircraft as it was taking off from the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4, causing the fully fueled aircraft to crash into the ground and burst into flame.
The National Transportation Safety Board released photos of the UPS Flight 2976 crash as the MD-11 crew tried to take off from the Louisville airport on November 4. (Photo Credit: National Transportation Safety Board/flickr)
The crash is the deadliest in the history of UPS and created a burn field of about one square mile and killed the three crewmembers on board, 11 on the ground and injured 23 others, according to USA Today.
The NTSB recovered the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, which contains data from the aircraft's 24 most recent flights, including the Louisville crash.
The NTSB said it will release a final report in 18 to 24 months.
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