Emergency directive prohibits further flight operations for MD-11 freighters operated by FedEx, UPS and Western Global Airlines pending mandatory inspections
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) that orders owners and operators of MD-11 freighters to inspect their aircraft for faults before they fly.
This emergency AD, 2025-23-51, was prompted by the fatal crash of a UPS MD-11F after taking off from Louisville, US on 4 November. The incident, which involved the left-hand engine and pylon detaching from the airplane during takeoff, is currently under investigation.
The FAA said: "This condition could result in loss of continued safe flight and landing. The FAA is issuing this AD because the agency has determined the unsafe condition is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design.”
It added: "This AD prohibits further flight until the airplane is inspected and all applicable corrective actions are performed using a method approved by the Manager, AIR-520, Continued Operational Safety Branch, FAA."
The AD was issued on 8 November and applies to both MD-11 freighters and MD-11 passenger aircraft, although only MD-11 freighters are currently in service.
Max Kingsley-Jones, head of advisory at Cirium Ascend Consultancy, said in a recent LinkedIn post that Cirium data showed that as of 5 November there are 57 MD-11Fs flying with FedEx, UPS and Western Global Airlines.
FedEx has 27 MD-11Fs, UPS has 26 and Western Global has four. Another 51 of the type are in storage. Kingsley-Jones added that the GE-powered variant involved in the UPS crash accounts for around 60% of the MD-11F operating fleet. He further noted that no passenger MD-11s remain in service.
Boeing stated on 7 November that it had "recommended to the three operators of the MD-11 Freighter that they suspend flight operations while additional engineering analysis is performed" and would "continue coordinating with the FAA on this matter".
On 8 November, it also said that it supported the FAA’s airworthiness directive. "We will remain in close communication with the operators as they work to follow the requirements of the airworthiness directive."
On 7 November, UPS said: "Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet. MD-11s are approximately 9% of the UPS Airlines fleet. The grounding is effective immediately. We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve."
Before the recent incident, MD-11F were still being used on international routes due to demand for widebody freighters outstripping supply, although the ageing model is gradually being retired.
As well as delays to production of the new generation 777-8F, in the last decade Boeing had faced scrutiny after its 737 MAX was firstly involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, then also came under fire last year when a door plug detached on an Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, causing rapid cabin depressurisation.
