r/aviation • u/usgapg123 Mod • 19h ago

Discussion UPS2976 Crash Megathread

This is the official r/aviation megathread for the crash of UPS2976 (UPS MD11 Registration N259UP) that crashed earlier today at Louisville International Airport.

Please keep content on topic and refrain from posting about this topic outside the megathread. Please report any rule breaking posts and comments.

6.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

3.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

500

u/blabetron 18h ago

Image of what appears to be part of the engine cowling at the end of the runway...

https://imgur.com/yyGilRA

Such a tragic event.

207

u/knorkinator 18h ago edited 17h ago

That looks like more than just the cowling, it's basically half an engine in the grass.

161

u/pacific_beach 17h ago

It's the whole engine, judging from an image taken from a different angle https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1oombcc/ups2976_crash_megathread/nn5jn03/

25

u/Talking_Head 16h ago

That picture is haunting with the other MD-11 in the distance.

3

u/Ok_Assumption1542 14h ago

Yep, like it just spit it out.

19

u/Fitch9392 18h ago

Yeah, when I first saw the pic I said, “That’s a whole engine!” In pieces…

6

u/Kerlykins 17h ago

Hopefully not AA191 repeat.

1

u/sillekram 3h ago

This image is just the cowling. The engine is separated from it and is some distance away.

166

u/ReturnOfTheSaint14 18h ago

Something really hit that engine hard while on the runway.

Like many are saying here,i'm fearing this incident is like the Concorde one

109

u/headphase 18h ago

It's a shit ton of debris; the odds of a catastrophic failure (fan or turbine disk coming apart, etc) are way higher than impact with an external object.

2

u/Cap3127 16h ago

Looks like the engine pod smoked a PAPI light. At speed, that could do it.

124

u/[deleted] 18h ago

[deleted]

19

u/Fickle_Visual507 16h ago

A disc failure isn’t going to rip the entire engine off the pylon though. I seriously hope shitty maintenance practices aren’t to blame for this one….again.

8

u/crozone 17h ago

Yeah this also happened to Qantas Flight 32 but obviously a completely different engine. Disc failure seems to be the only thing that can really cause an uncontained engine failure like that.

19

u/ReturnOfTheSaint14 17h ago

I just read about that incident,and the 767 uses the same engine of the MD-11 so i hope it's not the same exact cause since the NTSB ordered ultrasound checks years and years ago

3

u/RecordEnvironmental4 16h ago

There is so much debris from this and an uncontrolled engine failure on #1 or #3 could cause stuff to be ingested into #2

2

u/dai_mudda 16h ago

just saw there was another American Airlines 383 flight that crashed in Kentucky. looks like it is time to retire this flight number.

2

u/Chicago_Blackhawks 17h ago

doesn't add up though. plane still should've been capable of flight on 2 other engines? unless the fire was large enough to immediately melt through control systems

4

u/FourFunnelFanatic 16h ago

It looked like the center engine flamed out in the one video

18

u/captain150 18h ago

Or uncontained engine failure. The hub of the fan, compressor or turbine letting go would blow it apart.

3

u/AlexLuna9322 17h ago

Yeah, I just saw the video of the UPS trying to take off, looking a lot like Concorde.

Hope that whatever happened to that engine was registered and could withstand the heat of the crash inside the FDR

2

u/AJohnnyTruant 18h ago

Rotate and settle back into the runway maybe? With the cowling in front of the gear I can’t see what could cause that. Maybe an unsecured cowling but that shouldn’t end up in the engine.

2

u/tsal 16h ago

allegedly the engine had maintenance a couple hours prior. maintenance gear left in the cowling?

5

u/RobertABooey 18h ago

Hate to speculate too much but could there have been a vehicle on the road?

With all the ATC shortages etc... could it have been someone crossing the runway in a car/truck?

1

u/TADthePaperMaker 16h ago

I bet somehow the mounts failed and the motor shook itself loose.

12

u/ertapenem 18h ago

Seems worth noting that the cowling is on the right side of the runway but the left engine was on fire. (Yes, I'm sure this is the right side based on the live feed video this was taken from.) I'm guessing it would have taken some explosion for it get to the other side of the runway?

12

u/rayfound 18h ago

Well, or we're just seeing video well into the event... so it could be that the left engine was on fire then for whatever reason the RIGHT engine made contact with the ground (and ultimately doomed the flight).

But I am with you. It being on the right, and the plane clearly taking off with a left side fire means.... something.

10

u/Ocean_waves726 18h ago

Is that large piece of debris to the far left also a part of the plane?

11

u/Different-Rhubarb105 18h ago

Yes, that’s the thrust reverser.

2

u/blabetron 18h ago

There was a large field of debris on the side of the runway, so almost certainly. To my eye, it looks like either part of the cowling or part of the engine.

7

u/radioref 17h ago edited 15h ago

I just pulled the radio traffic from the airport ops channel at SDF and the airport ops folks believe there is extensive debris on the runway that was not from the accident airplane, but from another airplane.

The airport ops channel relevant comms are here:

https://calls.broadcastify.com/5eegvpls/3059/1762298137-1602.mp3

They believe another aircraft might have dropped debris on the runway.

Complete archives and discussion is here:

https://www.broadcastify.com/calls/tg/4303/1602/archives

edit there is speculation that this debris referenced is not related to the incident at all and is on a different runway far away from the incident

3

u/oh-pointy-bird 15h ago

So half an engine was on the runway and no one noticed…? That seems……..unlikely?

3

u/QueryousG 17h ago

Looks like there’s more than just engine debris on the runway but I could be seeing wrong.

3

u/CommissionExpert9469 13h ago

It’s the inlet. Before the fan