As I think most people have heard by now, there was an absolutely horrific aircraft accident that happened yesterday evening. I was traveling at the time and wasn’t able to cover it right away, but I figure it’s worth writing about, as this is the biggest cargo or passenger plane that we’ve seen crash in the United States in decades.
In this post:
UPS MD-11 crashes on takeoff in Louisville, killing at least 11
This incident happened on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, and involves UPS flight 5X2976, which was scheduled to operate from Louisville (SDF) to Honolulu (HNL).
At 5:13PM local time, the 34-year-old McDonell Douglas MD-11 with the registration code N259UP began its takeoff roll on runway 17R. While accelerating down the runway, its left wing burst into flames, as the plane lost its left engine. No, it didn’t “lose it” in terms of it going out, but the engine physically separated from the plane.
Nonetheless, the pilots continued their takeoff roll, and based on video footage, it appears that one of the other engines had a compressor stall shortly thereafter. That’s because you can see flames and sparks coming out of one of the other engines (the MD-11 has three engines — one on the left wing, one on the right wing, and mounted to the tail).
Based on the available data, the plane never climbed above 225 feet, and never accelerated beyond 185 knots. The plane impacted the ground a little more than a mile past the end of the runway. This created a massive explosion, given that the plane had around 38,000 gallons of fuel onboard, which is very close to the plane’s maximum fuel capacity.
So far there are seven confirmed fatalities — that includes the three pilots, plus four people on the ground. On top of that, there are at least 11 injuries on the ground, as the area past the airport has a bunch of warehouses (not surprising, since Louisville is a massive cargo hub for UPS).
The pilots didn’t make any sort of a mayday call, since they had bigger things to worry about than communicating, as that wasn’t going to save them. They had already been handed over to the departure controller, but never contacted them.
As you’d expect, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be leading the investigation into this accident, and we should learn more over time, with a preliminary report typically released within 30 days. As of now details are very limited.
My thoughts are with all of those who lost their lives, those who were injured, and their families. In particular, my heart breaks for the pilots — I can’t even imagine what their final seconds were like, trying to save a plane that just couldn’t fly.
A few thoughts on this horrifying UPS MD-11 crash
Obviously we’ll have to wait for the full investigation before we truly learn what happened. However, without speculating as to the cause, there are a few points that are worth addressing.
First of all, many people may ask “well if the wing was on fire, why would the pilots continue the takeoff roll?” We don’t know what exactly the pilots knew, though pilots are trained with having a “V1” speed, known as “the point of no return.” The idea is that once a plane reaches that speed, you continue with your takeoff, no matter what.
The logic is that this is the speed at which you can’t stop anymore, and you can’t thoughtfully analyze a situation if you only have a second to make a decision, especially given how much is going on at takeoff.
In hindsight, and on the surface, this probably seems like one of those situations where aborting the takeoff and overrunning the runway would’ve been the lesser of two evils. But that might not even be true — I believe there’s a bigger UPS building and even fueling station just past the runway, so the pilots may have actually saved a lot of lives by avoiding that. The point is, we really don’t know.
Second of all, there’s lots of talk about how the flight may have been delayed by around two hours on departure for work to be performed on the left engine. I haven’t seen that officially confirmed, but The Aviation Herald reports it, and the publisher is one of the most reliable and least speculative reporters on aircraft accidents.
Another interesting point is that this plane had recently been out of service for several weeks. Specifically, from September 3 through October 18, 2025, it was on the ground in San Antonio (SAT). This is a destination where UPS often sends its MD-11s for weeks at a time, so I assume some sort of maintenance is performed there?
While the plane had performed a little over two dozen flights since returning to service a couple of weeks ago, none of them were long haul flights. This was the first long haul flight, and therefore, was presumably the first flight where the plane may have been close to maximum takeoff weight, which puts an extra amount of stress on the aircraft. I imagine that maintenance will be a big focus on this investigation, since engines aren’t just supposed to fall off planes.
Lastly, this accident is eerily similar to the 1979 crash of American Airlines AA191, which is the deadliest crash to ever happen in the United States. The flight was also operated by McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (a prior version of the MD-11), and the plane also lost its left engine on takeoff, and immediately came crashing down. The root cause of the accident may differ, but the actual crash “profile” was very similar.
Bottom line
A UPS McDonell Douglas MD-11 tragically crashed while taking off at Louisville Airport. The plane lost its left engine during its takeoff roll, the left wing became engulfed in flames, and the pilots still tried to get the plane in the sky. Sadly they had absolutely no chance, and the plane burst into flames.
So far, seven people are confirmed dead, and 11 are confirmed injured. Again, my thoughts are with those who lost their lives and their families. I feel terribly for those who died on the ground, but my gosh, those poor pilots, who were probably hopelessly wrestling that plane. It’s just chilling, and I can’t imagine what’s on that cockpit voice recorder…
What do you make of this UPS MD-11 crash?
Terrible tragedy. That is long route for this aging aircraft would be my initial thought.
I always see one MD-11 FEDEX (not UPS) cargo plane parked at IAH. I even saw 4 a couple weeks ago ! I was under the strong assumption that these are short haul flights with constant maintenance like IAH-DFW or IAH-MEM or IAH-OKC.
AA191 in 1979 lost the left engine and the left wing slats retracted causing the stall.
A few years ago, a chartered MD-83 at KYIP aborted after V1; no fatalities. The pilot later said something to the effect of, I know you're never supposed to abort after V1 but something just didn't feel right. The investigation confirmed it was unflyable. But otoh KYIP has plenty of runway for a lightly-loaded MD-83.
Which is to say, one thing that's incredible to me is the sheer number of things a pilot has to...
A few years ago, a chartered MD-83 at KYIP aborted after V1; no fatalities. The pilot later said something to the effect of, I know you're never supposed to abort after V1 but something just didn't feel right. The investigation confirmed it was unflyable. But otoh KYIP has plenty of runway for a lightly-loaded MD-83.
Which is to say, one thing that's incredible to me is the sheer number of things a pilot has to be aware of - not just on the gauges and dials, but every quirk of a massive and complex aircraft, what's at the end of the runway, the weather halfway around the world, ad infinitum.
"The idea is that once a plane reaches that speed, you continue with your takeoff, no matter what." - Aren't fire and/or engine failure one of those few reasons to abort even after V1?
Love all these articles that insist we're not going to speculate, and then speculate. It's ok. Just go for it if you want to. No need to apologize. It's your site.
Incredibly tragic and horrifying. I feel for the families of the crew and the victims. Hope the investigation results in lessons-learned so that we can avoid such accidents in the future.
And, Ben, thank goodness it was not a passenger aircraft, like AA191, and that their path was not over populated areas. Still, that footage with the trucks in the foreground is almost too vivid. I'd imagine these brave pilots fought it to the bitter end, even though, not much they could really do.
It's been a rough year for aviation. From what I've gathered, the aircraft was being repaired 2 hours before departure.
And this is just another example of takeoffs and landings being the most critical phase of flight.