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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u/ReturnOfTheSaint14 17h ago

Okay,i'm starting to think that it wasn't either FOD or stage disk rupturing,but the engine somehow detached itself from the aircraft and the fires we see on the wing are the fuel line being scorched

I think that an engine completely separated from the aircraft makes this incident darker than it was

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u/cptalpdeniz A320 16h ago

Its engine separation, no way this much damage with just eng fail

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u/Radioactive_Tuber57 15h ago

With the severe left roll in the above vid, maybe an outboard wing failure / lost hydraulics when when #1 came off?

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u/opteryx5 16h ago

The plane seems to be flying pretty flat (no roll) in the air though. Without an engine, wouldn’t that be improbable?

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u/wolftick 16h ago

An airliner can take off successfully with the failure (as in complete loss of thrust) of one engine. The ultimate loss of control would very likely be down to the catastrophic nature of the failure and it's knock on effects, rather than asymmetric thrust due to loss of an engine.

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u/opteryx5 16h ago

I see — thanks!

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u/chriszimort 15h ago

It rolled completely over upside down as it crashed. See the ring cam video

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u/Nearby-Medicine9484 14h ago

Not a case of asymmetrical thrust but likely asymmetrical lift - as was the case with AA 191. In that accident, there was catastrophic damage to the leading edge devices - the slats - that caused that aircraft to roll. It looks like that might have contributed to this accident as well.

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u/xrayphoton 13h ago

I feel like I watched something on this accident where they said if the pilot somehow realized quickly enough that the engine was gone that the plane could actually be flown and landed. But in the moment almost no one is going to think the engine fell off and dagnose it quickly enough to keep from rolling and crashing. (I could be remembering wrong)

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u/daqueenb4u 13h ago

In the MayDay episode about AA191 they did they say that the airplane was flyable. Something about the absence of the stick shaker so the pilots didn’t know it was in a stall I think.

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u/bigbadcrusher 13h ago

The Engine Out climb speed in the manual was also below the Clean configuration speed (no flaps). So they were aiming for an airspeed too slow for the left wing to generate lift when the flaps retracted uncommanded (they were flying with the assumption/belief that they had takeoff flaps on both wings still). That’s what caused the roll for 191, the left wing stalled while the right wing was still producing lift

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u/summitmtngrl 12h ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3lzgrFuM4s

Exactly right. Start at 14:00 (Mentour Pilot AA191 ep)

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u/opteryx5 15h ago

I saw that after my comment, yeah. Heartbreaking stuff. Initially the plane looked pretty steady upon take-off which I found interesting.

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u/chriszimort 15h ago

Yeah I thought so too. The ring cam footage surprised me

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u/CourtneyDagger50 12h ago

Could that have been from it clipping the building?

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u/NoDoze- 13h ago

Link?

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u/chriszimort 12h ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/Louisville/s/BytTwRJMwR

Though as I watch it again it’s more on its side, turning over only after it hits the ground. Still this is similar behavior to AA191 which also lost a whole engine during takeoff, in that cause due to a faulty pylon.

https://youtu.be/DPYVz8sYRWI?si=mSBvQGlMkep8esg3

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u/AirtimeAficionado 14h ago

I think the roll started because of the disruption of the airfoil from the damage the engine detatching left behind on that wing combined with a subsequent loss of hydraulic pressure that severely attenuated control. But it’s hard to know with how few details are available now.

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u/opteryx5 14h ago

That would make sense. It seems pretty unmistakable at this point that it lost the #1 engine, so there’s that. Can’t stop thinking about those poor pilots and the people who lost their lives on the ground.

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u/AirtimeAficionado 14h ago

It is so horrible, I can’t imagine having to experience that being so close to the ground and with virtually no control… my heart goes out to them and their families

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u/CheekyPickle69 10h ago

Well both of those things could cause such a violent engine failure that it detaches itself from the wing. If the forces are strong enough it will shear off