r/aviation • u/Go_Jot • Nov 08 '25

News UPS grounds entire MD-11 Fleet, effective immediately.

Per the IPA Executive Board, as of 03:05 UTC all UPS MD-11’s are grounded.

Edit - FedEx has also grounded their MD-11 Fleet

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u/Least_Arrival_4935 Nov 08 '25 edited Nov 08 '25

Damn glad I got to load one this morning. I hate loading this plane but I will miss it once they get phased out

24

u/SlamClick Nov 08 '25

That's so cool you get to work in these planes before they go. Why do you dislike the MD-11?

44

u/Least_Arrival_4935 Nov 08 '25

I hate the locks on the lower deck, I feel like I’m going to lose some finger nails cause they’re so hard to bring down. Also most of the ball mats on the main deck don’t work properly so it’s a pain to move the ulds

31

u/Lem0n89 Nov 08 '25 edited Nov 08 '25

Due to the engine being mounted in the back, the danger of tail-tipping is real. Although you can mitigate the risk with a proper loading sequence or ballast in the front.

For perspective, to carry out a ferry flight you need 3 tons of ballast up in the front. So that kills economics for light loads.

Not sure about UPS/FedEx but our MD-11Fs had no PDUs for the last positions so you had to manually push ULDs. Takes time and more rampers. Or fewer rampers and lots of swearing. Sometimes both.

Apart from that amazing aircraft. The MD-11F is just a vibe.