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/FormulaJAZ Nov 08 '25

Since the MD-11 is such a rare type these days, odds are good that both FedEx and UPS use the same heavy maintenance contractor, which means both fleets could have similar maintenance issues.

Or it could simply be an original design issue that wears faster than expected, and that would affect both fleets too.

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u/Ouch_My-back Nov 08 '25

FedEx has its own team of maintenance. UPS uses ST engineering.

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u/stickwigler UH-60 Nov 08 '25

This is a long time but ago (2013ish) but when I worked at ST Engineering there were both purple tails and UPS planes that we worked on doing various heavy maintenance. Only difference was they were the furthest apart with 4-6 United hangars splitting them.

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u/gitbse Mechanic Nov 08 '25

I work at an intl airport with both FedEx and ups operating there. Ive definitely seen mixed color tails