A Kentucky congressman who represents the district where United Parcel Service’s Worldport air hub is located has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to permanently ground the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet following the deadly crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville last November.
“Families have lost loved ones, communities have suffered overwhelming sadness, and the nation has witnessed yet another catastrophic disaster involving an aircraft with a long-documented history of mechanical problems,”Rep. Morgan McGarvey said in a letter to the FAA last Friday. “We have a collective responsibility to ensure that no additional lives are put at risk by an aircraft whose design and operational history have repeatedly demonstrated an unacceptable level of danger.”
UPS Flight 2976 crashed during take off from Louisville International Airport as the left engine and a structural pylon detached from the wing shortly after the front landing gear lifted, igniting a fire. The cargo jet never got higher than 30 feet off the ground before striking a warehouse just beyond the Louisville airport’s perimeter and slamming into a storage yard and other buildings. Fourteen people died in the crash, including the three pilots.
Within days, the FAA banned MD-11s from flying until the entire fleet is thoroughly inspected and any necessary repairs are completed. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation found fatigue cracks in a structural section that held the engine to the left wing.
The letter asserts the tragedy in Louisville was the result of a broader pattern of structural deficiencies, citing a long-documented history of mechanical problems as cause for the FAA to permanently ground the model of aircraft from service.
The MD-11 has experienced at least ten hull loss accidents since entering service in 1990 – the highest hull loss rate (per million departures) of any widebody commercial jet airliner still flying within the U.S. – according to Boeing. The manufacturer acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and is responsible for supporting airlines that fly the MD-11.
“Investigators, pilots, and operators have continuously documented the aircraft’s tendencies toward instability on landing, center-of-gravity sensitivity, and structural stress around the engine pylons. Multiple cargo carriers have already decided that the aircraft poses unacceptable risk and have since retired the aircraft from their fleets voluntarily…. With a clear trend of users phasing out the MD-11, the FAA is one of the last major entities to have taken no action on removing this aircraft from commercial service,” wrote McGarvey, a Democrat. “Given the MD-11’s safety record, the NTSB’s preliminary report on the Louisville crash, and the FAA’s statutory obligations, I urge the FAA to take immediate steps to permanently ground the MD-11,” wrote McGarvey.
Only three U.S. airlines operate the aging MD-11. UPS (NYSE: UPS) in January decided to retire the 28 remaining MD-11s it owns. Western Global Airlines has not publicly commented on the MD-11’s future. FedEx (NYSE: FDX), however, is ramping up preparations to operate the plane again as soon as the FAA gives the okay.
According to internal FedEx communiqués obtained by FreightWaves, FedEx is planning for the return to service of two MD-11s in May and the subsequent reactivation of all 27 freighters it owns. FedEx told air operations employees that Boeing has developed a part that will correct the MD-11’s structural problem and make the plane safe to operate. Pilots have been told to take refresher classes for the MD-11 and a town hall meeting is scheduled for next week to update airline personnel on how the planes will be reincorporated into the fleet and explain the Boeing fix.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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