UPS MD11 crash on take-off in Kentucky

[RSD]

NTSB preliminary report.

DCA26MA024.aspx

www.ntsb.gov

So essentially it wasn't an uncontained engine failure or anything like that. As the aircraft rotated it put a very high loading on the aft mount and it failed - and as can be seen in the pictures at the start of the report the No.1 engine then went upwards and over the top of the aircraft and that it how it ended up on the right side of the runway.

 

[RooFlyer]

Juan Browne’s take. Speculates that the event may have been initiated by fan turbine blade(s) breaking off, initiating vibrations that finally set off already cracked mounting parts.

He also says and demonstrates something interesting about rotational precession, contributing to the pylon detachment and where the engine ended up.

 

[jb747]

You don’t need blades breaking to cause this. I’ll bet it was a perfectly healthy engine.

 

[RSD]

You don’t need blades breaking to cause this. I’ll bet it was a perfectly healthy engine.

I'm in the same camp - the mounts hung on until one day they could no longer...

 

[markis10]

Update

https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA26MA024%20Investigative%20Update.pdf

Known issue in 2011

 

[markis10]

UPS have now retired all MD-11’s

 

[RSD]

UPS have now retired all MD-11’s

Sensible move in the circumstances. Will be interesting to see if Fedex do the same.

 

[markis10]

Sensible move in the circumstances. Will be interesting to see if Fedex do the same.

FedEx have said no

FedEx said it is working with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to return its grounded MD-11 cargo jets to service by May 31, according to Reuters.

On Wednesday the carrier confirmed inspections and maintenance actions are underway as part of the effort to safely resume MD-11 operations. FedEx temporarily grounded the aircraft type after a UPS–operated MD-11 crashed at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in November, killing all three crewmembers on board.

“We continue to work with Boeing and the FAA to address any required inspection and maintenance that may be needed to return our MD-11 aircraft safely to service,” FedEx said in a statement cited by Reuters.

FedEx Plans MD-11 Return By Late May

FedEx is working with Boeing and the FAA to return its grounded MD-11 cargo jets to service by May 31, following the retirement of UPS’s MD-11 fleet and ongoing NTSB investigations into last year’s fatal crash.

avweb.com