By Lyle Brennan, Benjamin Katz and Drew FitzGerald

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all MD-11 planes temporarily grounded after the Tuesday crash of a United Parcel Service cargo jet in Louisville, Ky., killed at least 14 people.

The FAA said Saturday its emergency airworthiness directive responded to an "accident where the left-hand engine and pylon detached" during takeoff. The regulator's order didn't note what might have caused the engine to detach.

The order prohibits all MD-11 flights until the airplanes are inspected and their owners perform corrective actions using an FAA-authorized method.

UPS had said late Friday that it was grounding its MD-11 fleet at the recommendation of the jet's manufacturer, Boeing. MD-11s account for about 9% of the UPS Airlines fleet, the company added.

FedEx later said that it was following suit. There are about 70 MD-11 freighter jets currently in operation.

Boeing asked that operators of the freighter suspend flights after its internal safety review suggested "additional engineering analysis" was required, a spokeswoman for the plane maker said.

"This recommendation was made in an abundance of caution and we will continue coordinating with the FAA on this matter," Boeing said. The MD-11 was manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing purchased in the 1990s.

A government probe into the accident continues. Investigators on Friday said that the cockpit voice recorder from UPS Flight 2976 had captured more than two hours of clear audio, including a repeating bell that sounded soon after the crew called for takeoff thrust.

The bell continued until the end of the recording 25 seconds later as the crew tried to bring the aircraft under control, according to a press briefing from J. Todd Inman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

In its earlier findings, the NTSB said a fire broke out on the MD-11's left wing during takeoff and that the left engine then detached and fell to the ground. The Honolulu-bound plane cleared the runway fence at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport before crashing into buildings nearby.

The jet involved was 34 years old and had undergone repair work over six weeks from September after a crack was identified in the aircraft's fuel tank. Maintenance teams later found corrosion along two structural beams in the fuselage, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Planes that are more than 30 years old aren't unusual in the cargo-hauling business. The MD-11 that crashed had been converted from carrying passengers to carrying cargo in the 2000s.

UPS-owned cargo jets are around 22 years old on average, and the average age of its MD-11s is 31, according to a Journal analysis of Flightradar24 data.

Both UPS and FedEx have been extending the lives of older jets, even as they work to retire their MD-11s and upgrade to newer, more-efficient planes.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Friday on social media that the death toll had risen to 14 as one additional victim was found that evening at the crash site.

Write to Benjamin Katz at ben.katz@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 08, 2025 18:14 ET (23:14 GMT)

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