With his fatal plane crash in Louisville Kentucky which killed at least 14 people has shocked the US, the American companies Air cargo carriers UPS and FedEx announced Friday (7/11/2025) that they have retired 50 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter aircraft.
The UPS MD-11 was the one that crashed late Tuesday night after a fire erupted that turned it into a ball of fire shortly after takeoff from Louisville International Airport. The number of victims, the causes of which are under investigation, has increased to 14 dead, according to a post made yesterday, on the X social networking platform, by the mayor of Louisville, Greg Greenberg.
The companies UPS and FedEx are the two largest commercial freight companies in the worldwhile separately announcing that they have grounded their fleets of MD-11 aircraft “exerting the utmost care” in their safety conditions.
“We took this decision as a precaution, following the recommendation of the manufacturing company,” UPS said in a statement.
WATCH: New dashcam video shows the crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville, Kentucky pic.twitter.com/Z0LxCeX1eF
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) November 6, 2025
UPS is grounding its MD-11(F) fleet with immediate effect at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer.
There are currently 26 MD-11s in the UPS fleet of 294 total aircraft. https://t.co/kBao5qBeOJ pic.twitter.com/VziC5VNQnI
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 8, 2025
FedEx operates 28 MD-11 aircraft, while according to UPS, the company had 27 aircraft in operation in its fleet before the reported plane crash.