UPS grounded its entire McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet after Flight 2976 crashed during takeoff at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4. At least 14 people have been killed—including three crew members.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet,” UPS wrote in a statement on Nov. 7.
The MD-11 was headed from Louisville, Kentucky, to Honolulu, Hawaii, when the left engine detached from the plane’s wing during takeoff on Tuesday.
“MD-11s are approximately 9% of the UPS Airlines fleet,” UPS stated.
“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.”…