Newly released photos show the engine of a UPS cargo plane falling off and bursting into flames shortly after takeoff in a tragic crash that left 14 people dead and 23 injured.
The UPS plane was departing from Louisville, Kentucky, en route to Hawaii before it erupted into a deadly fireball on November 4.
The six photos, released by the National Transportation Safety Board after an investigation into the fatal crash, show the left engine and left pylon separating from the left wing of the plane.
Flames blasted from where the left engine had snapped off, with the plane hitting the ground near the end of the runway, creating plumes of black smoke.
The left engine crashed onto the ground, with a fire igniting near the left pylon attachment to the wing. The fire continued until the MD-11 cargo plane plummeted into a nearby storage yard and two buildings.
The three pilots aboard the airplane and 11 people nearby Muhammad Ali International Airport were killed, with 23 others on the ground suffering injuries.
The MD-11 has three engines, two on the wings and one on the tail.
The NTSB’s preliminary report into the crash found the bracket that held the left engine in place had cracked in two places.
The report found “evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure.”
The plane’s left pylon had been inspected by a UPS maintenance crew seven days before the crash, the NTSB report said. It was not due for a detailed inspection of key engine mount parts and was last examined in October 2021.
“It appears UPS was conducting this maintenance within the required time frame, but I’m sure the FAA is now going to ponder whether that time frame is adequate,” former federal crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti told The Associated Press after reading the report.
UPS has temporarily grounded its fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft after the crash.
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