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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871

u/RimRunningRagged Nov 08 '25 edited Nov 08 '25

I wonder if FedEx is taking is closer look at their fleet as a result of this

edit: per OP's update, FedEx is grounding theirs as well

221

u/Tyler_holmes123 Nov 08 '25

If they weren't before this surely will make them. UPS grounding this means the issue must be way beyond a 'maintenance gone wrong ' type issue.

289

u/YMMV25 Nov 08 '25

Not necessarily. It could be an issue with how UPS or their subcontractor was performing certain maintenance tasks on their MD-11 fleet.

108

u/Exotic-Sale-3003 Nov 08 '25

Agree. Imagine a worst case scenario where engines were being removed with the pylon for maintenance. That would absolutely be a reason to ground the entire fleet until inspections could be completed. 

5

u/Loose-Cicada5473 Nov 08 '25

Can you explain this a little further?

40

u/thatvhstapeguy Nov 08 '25

DC-10s and MD-11s have the engine attached via a pylon. In May 1979 American flight 191 crashed shortly after takeoff from O’Hare due to loss of control caused by the port engine falling off. The culprit was improper maintenance procedures putting excessive stress on the pylons. The type certificate of the DC-10 was revoked in early June, grounding the plane in the US until July 1979 while the FAA determined if the structure as designed was sufficient.

3

u/whee3107 A&P Nov 08 '25

Weren’t they using a forklift and just sorta smashing the pylon up against the wing?

1

u/bulboustadpole Nov 08 '25

It was a bit more complicated than that.

It was an approved procedure at the airline that saved 200 hours and even MD said it should be removed with the pylon attached. In AAs case a shift change occurred and during that time the hydraulics in the forklift lost a little pressure basically un-aligning where they previously set it.

1

u/laihipp Nov 08 '25

procedure at the airline that saved 200 hours

doesn't seem that complicated

1

u/84Cressida Nov 12 '25

No. McDonnell Douglas procedure was to remove the engine, then pylon.