UPS Plane Engine Goes Solo; Crash Lands Left Swipe on Louisville

On a blustery Tuesday, a 34-year-old McDonnell-Douglas relic-turned-UPS cargo plane, tail number N259UP, tried to play wingman but lost its left engine mid-takeoff near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The CCTV captured this awkward break-up moment as the aircraft desperately banked left before becoming a fiery spectacle. The jet, once loved by Thai Airways since 1991 and later adopted by UPS in 2006, was headed to Honolulu with 38,000 gallons of fuel onboard—a generous drink order even by Kentucky standards. NTSB member J. Todd Inman called the footage 'very valuable,' presumably for understanding how engines perform grand exits. With at least 11 fatalities and UPS halting some package sorting at Worldport, Boeing’s tech squad is awkwardly pitching in, recalling the bittersweet 'merger' of McDonnell-Douglas into Boeing back in '97—proof that aging fleets don’t exit gracefully. Mark Stephens, a Delta MD-11 pro, compared engine loss to a washing machine gone rogue, and frankly, we’ve all been there—terrible drivers on life’s runway, it seems.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Nothing says 'Friday pilot skills' like losing your plane’s left engine during takeoff roll and expecting a smooth flight. UPS took their own definition of 'drop shipping' a little too seriously.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Apparently, the plane’s left engine wanted a solo career, peeling off mid-takeoff. Spoiler alert: it didn’t get a standing ovation, just a fiery exit and a tweet or two.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

A 34-year-old plane ditching its left engine mid-runway is peak 'midlife crisis' energy. Boeing’s tech team probably just logged into Zoom wondering which disaster show they’re starring in today.

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