Accident Probes News

NTSB Focuses on Maintenance Procedures on First Day of UPS Crash Hearing

Investigators zero in on spherical bearing that allegedly weakened an engine pylon.

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 10:21 AM ET

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UPS MD-11 freighter [Credit: Jim Allen/FreightWaves]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB is investigating the fatal crash of UPS Flight 2976, an MD-11F, which occurred after its No. 1 engine separated during takeoff, resulting in 14 fatalities.
The investigation focuses on maintenance procedures and a specific spherical bearing, which allegedly failed, leading to a weakened engine pylon.
Boeing and UPS had knowledge of potential issues with these spherical bearings since 2008 but did not classify it as a safety issue, only issuing a service letter for inspection rather than a mandatory airworthiness directive.
Following the accident, MD-11 fleets were temporarily grounded globally, and subsequent inspections revealed similar cracks on engine attachment pylons in other aircraft.

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Maintenance procedures and protocols took center stage on day one of the National Transportation Safety Board’s hearing on the fatal crash of UPS Flight 2976.

The two-day hearing in Washington, D.C., is an information-gathering exercise, with Boeing, UPS, ST Engineering, Independent Pilots Association, Teamsters Airline Division, GE Aerospace, Collins Aerospace, and the FAA present to answer questions about procedures and policies for aircraft maintenance.

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.