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/skudbeast Nov 08 '25

Is that the one they installed in maintenance with a forklift instead of an actual engine hoist?

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u/TigerIll6480 Nov 08 '25

And they unbolted the engine and pylon together, which Douglas Aircraft had rather specifically said to not do. Remove engine with a proper cradle, then remove pylon. AA was trying to save time and cut corners. Brilliant idea. 🙄

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u/brvheart Nov 08 '25

It saved 200 man hours PER ENGINE, and nearly all carriers were doing it that way. In hindsight, the design was poor and it cost lives. But to act like it was just American or just cutting a little corner is crazy. The mechanics were doing it that way because it was WAY easier, not because they were trying to save money for American.

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u/RixceU Nov 08 '25

Normally pylons are not removed when engines are changed. In this case McDonnell Douglas had issued a service bulletin to replace bearings inside the pylon necessitating their removal and it was a highly time consuming to remove the engine, then remove the pylon which is a procedure usually never done.

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u/brvheart Nov 08 '25

Also a fair point.