UPS Crash Hearing Scrutinizes MD-11 Design Component

Day two of NTSB testimony reveals Boeing didn’t structurally require preventing engine pylon separation.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 02:47 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A UPS MD-11 aircraft [Credit: Shutterstock/Austin Deppe]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB hearing questioned the MD-11's wing pylon design, which did not account for complete separation, and noted its "fail-safe" lugs failed simultaneously during the crash.
Critical spherical bearings, which impact lug integrity, were not designated as Principal Structural Elements (PSEs), leading to infrequent inspections; their required inspection interval has since been drastically reduced.
The aircraft's fire warning system failed to activate during takeoff despite visible fire, due to a design feature that suppresses warnings during the initial phase of flight.

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Day two of the National Transportation Safety Board’s hearing on the fatal crash of UPS Flight 2976 on November 4 in Louisville, Kentucky, took a deeper dive into design and structural testing of the MD-11’s wing pylon and components.

According to Boeing, during the design of the aircraft the emphasis was on the pylon maintaining structural integrity in the event of a gear-up or off-airport landing and to prevent fuel spillage. Boeing officials noted there was no structural requirement to ensure pylon separation did not occur, as the scenario of the pylon completely separating from the wing was not considered.