Wrongful Death Lawsuits Filed Over UPS Jet Crash

Aviation attorney says incident raises questions about ‘profit over safety.’

Caleb Revill

Thursday, December 04, 2025 at 01:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

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

Key Takeaways:

Wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against UPS, General Electric, Boeing, and a maintenance provider following the November 4 crash of a UPS MD-11F cargo jet in Louisville.
The lawsuits, brought by families of crash victims, allege negligence and seek answers for the incident that killed 14 people and injured 23 after the aircraft's left engine caught fire and detached during takeoff.
Preliminary NTSB findings indicate fatigue fractures in bolts and locking devices on the 34-year-old aircraft, with the cockpit voice recorder capturing warnings during the takeoff roll.
The FAA has grounded all MD-11 aircraft pending further investigation, amidst concerns raised by attorneys regarding potential "catastrophic failure across numerous safety systems" and "profit over safety."

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The first wrongful death lawsuits have been filed in Kentucky state court following the November 4 crash of a UPS MD-11F in Louisville.

The suits were filed on Wednesday by Clifford Law Offices of Chicago and attorney Sam Aguiar of Louisville on behalf of the families of Angela Anderson, a customer at a local business, and Trinadette Chavez, an employee at one of the businesses destroyed in the crash.