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UPS and Fedex both own dozens of MD-11 freighter jets, which have been grounded ahead of the critical Christmas period
Alex CroftMonday 24 November 2025 17:36 GMTComments
CloseNew video shows horrific Kentucky plane crash which killed 13
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UPS and FedEx could struggle to fulfil deliveries over the crucial holiday period after one of the main freighter jets in their air-cargo fleet was grounded following the deadly plane crash in Kentucky earlier this month.
The delivery giants are working to secure enough freighters after their fleets of workhorse MD-11 were grounded indefinitely, following the tragedy in which the engine was torn off as a 34-year-old model took off on 4 November, killing 14 people, including the plane’s crew of three.
It is set to complicate operations significantly for the companies as they gear up for the busiest season of the year, with shipping volumes beginning to surge ahead of Christmas.
“It’s creating a real capacity crunch for UPS and FedEx,” said Derek Lossing, founder of logistics consulting firm Cirrus Global Advisors, according to Bloomberg. “They will adjust their networks, but at the end of the day, they were planning on flying those aircraft.”
open image in galleryThe MD-11 plane crashed into several local businesses (Courtesy of X account @LeviDean9)Shocking footage showed the cargo plane flying very low, tilting to one side, before hitting the ground and exploding into a massive fireball. Satellite photos of the site, taken by the Vantor data intelligence company, show the plane left a long, black scar and a debris trail on the ground.
The incident could spell the end for the 109 remaining MD-11 airliners, 26 of which belong to UPS, around 9 per cent of its fleet, and another 28 to FedEx, around 4 per cent.
A report from safety investigators on Thursday found that fatigue cracks in the structure that attached the turbofan - a type of airbreathing jet engine - to the plane’s wing.
The companies may already be considering retiring their MD-11s — which average more than 30 years old — over the coming years and replacing them with safer, more efficient planes. The FAA grounded all MD-11s and the 10 remaining related DC-10s after the crash.
open image in galleryNTSB has released new images from the Nov. 4 crash of a UPS Boeing MD-11F airplane in Louisville, Kentucky (NTSB)Their fates will be determined once UPS, FedEx, and Western Global see how expensive the repairs the Federal Aviation Administration orders will be and learn whether there is a fatal flaw in their design.
Mary Schiavo, a former U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General, said it probably won't be worth fixing the planes when better options are available from Boeing and Airbus. However, the manufacturers have such a backlog that it takes years to get a plane after it is ordered.
“For them to order inspections and to ground them as readily as they did makes me think that they’re worried about them,” Schiavo said.
An FAA spokesperson said the agency is working with NTSB and Boeing, which bought the company that made the MD-11s in 1997, to determine what needs to be done.
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