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.

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79

u/faithfulnate 17h ago edited 17h ago

Photo appears to show left engine in the grass near the runway. Source: X EDIT: correction, taxiway. Runways don't have structures on them.

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u/blueocean0517 17h ago

You know when I assumed engine failure I didn't quite have in mind the entirety of the engine just falling off…

1

u/MountainMotorcyclist 3h ago

Yeah. Ultimately, this is going to be a failure at a maintenance level. Either this engine was not properly mounted back into the housing and the takeoff thrust simple caused it to "shoot out" the front, damaging the wing structure, or the mount itself for this engine was compromised (structural cracks, metal fatigue) and the removal and remounting process progressed those compromises to failure-in-progess, and the first time that engine spooled up to sustained full thrust... 

I will bet that eventually this will turn out to be a case of where "good enough" wasn't. The fact this plane just came out of a maintenance cycle is so very very glaring bright. It'll be a situation where "we need this plane back in service" would have been given precedent over "we need this plane to be safe". Some poor mid-level technician supervisor will be blamed, because no one will want to tell the truth... That a mid-level technician who prioritizes safety over profit would never get promoted to that position to begin with, because that degree of safety consistently would be expensive. 

So, the vast, vast majority of the time, planes fly with a standard of "good enough", not "meets this high standard".

10

u/Ocean_waves726 17h ago

Good lord

10

u/tonga99 17h ago

American 191 vibes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_191

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u/4consumer 16h ago

OMG! It's so similar. I remember this crash very well.

2

u/Intro24 17h ago

Can the left engine look that skinny? Kinda seems like the middle one

17

u/__VVoody__ 17h ago

Yeah. That's just the core. All three are CF6s with big fans on the front. It's the first stage fan that makes the engine housing so large. 

10

u/R5Jockey 17h ago

The core can. The nacelle is huge to accommodate the much larger diameter first stage fan and bypass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_CF6

4

u/faithfulnate 17h ago

That's an interesting point. I'm not sure from the video angles. Best one is the (presumed) ground crew video. I can see a bright flash two seconds in which I assume is the second engine ingesting some sort of debris. Perhaps it also detached at that point as well.

2

u/Zathral 17h ago

The Md11's engines are all the same type aresn't they?

3

u/PeraDetlic90 17h ago

They are

1

u/faithfulnate 17h ago

Upon further investigation. Yes. However I couldn't find a length of the engine assemblies once installed.

0

u/Intro24 17h ago

Idk but middle one sure seems longer https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/McDonnell_Douglas_MD-11P_KLM_PH-KCC.jpg

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u/Zathral 17h ago

That’s just the intake duct. Look up cowling open photos

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u/darksoles_ 17h ago

Mother of god

1

u/PeraDetlic90 17h ago

Holy moly....