UPS Jet’s Engine Called ‘Sick Day,’ Decides to Bail Mid-Air
KEY POINTS
- •The UPS MD-11 airplane crashed near Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport in November 2025 due to metal fatigue.
- •Fourteen people died in the crash, including three crew members and eleven people on the ground around the airport.
- •The NTSB reported that the left engine detached mid-takeoff because of fatigue cracks and overstress failure.
- •Following the crash, the FAA grounded all MD-11 planes used by UPS and FedEx while investigations continue.
In a spectacular 2025 air show of engineering denial, a 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11—battle-tested since 1991, making it older than half the FAA staff—lost its left engine mid-takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky. The General Electric engine, apparently fed up with fatigue (metal, not coffee), detached completely, smacking into the aircraft like a bad Tinder date. The UPS flight bound for Honolulu tragically killed 14 people — three on board and eleven poor souls on the ground—and turned a UPS warehouse roof into unexpected airborne real estate. Meanwhile, the FAA grounded the entire MD-11 fleet, proving age isn’t just a number, it’s a liability.
Share the Story
When your plane’s engine decides to quit its job mid-takeoff, UPS reminds us that 34 years in service is just code for 'hang on for dear life.'
Nothing says reliable cargo delivery like a 34-year-old engine flipping the bird right before you leave the runway.
Metal fatigue crashing planes: older than your dad’s jokes but way less funny when an engine parts ways mid-air.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 11/21/2025 | Author: Shubhangi Goel,Taylor Rains
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