The UPS plane that crashed in Louisville was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, a long-range cargo jet known for its power.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The UPS plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport just after 5 p.m. Tuesday was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, a wide-body cargo jet used for long-haul flights.
The MD-11 is a long-range, tri-jet aircraft developed by McDonnell Douglas in the late 1980s and later produced by Boeing after the companies merged in 1997.
Other incidents involving the aircraft have happened in the past, including hard landings and tail strikes linked to its flight-control characteristics.
Notable crashes:
FedEx Express Flight 14 in 1997, a cargo flight from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey, suffered a hard landing that caused the aircraft to overturn. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued recommendations afterward to improve MD-11 operations.
Swissair Flight 111 in 1998, a passenger flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Geneva, involved a seven-year-old MD-11; about an hour after takeoff, the crew detected an odor in the cockpit, and all 229 passengers and crew were killed.
In 2009, FedEx Flight 80 crashed on landing at Tokyo Narita Airport, killing two. The flight had been scheduled to reach Narita in just under four hours.
UPS connection:
UPS added the MD-11 to its fleet in the 1990s for long-haul routes from its Louisville hub to Hawaii and Asia. Tuesday’s crash of UPS Flight 2976, headed for Honolulu, is one of the company’s most serious in years.
The plane can hold 38,000 gallons of fuel.
What’s next:
The NTSB will lead the investigation into the crash, examining the flight data recorder, maintenance logs, and flight paths to determine the cause.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as the NTSB and FAA release more information about the MD-11 and the circumstances surrounding the UPS crash.