UPS grounds MD-11 fleet

Friday, November 07, 2025

UPS has grounded its fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-11's, the type of plane involved in Tuesday's deadly crash in Louisville, Kentucky, two sources familiar with the situation told NBC News Friday. UPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A photo seen by NBC news showed a screen in a plane that directed pilots to return and which read: "Per UPS MD11 are not to depart effective immediately."

Posted by REDIAL at 11:55 PM | 8 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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This ain't A Good Thing.

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-08 12:00 AM | Reply

fwiw, I have a tie-in with Louisville.

I spent my first year out of college in that great city working for a major corporation that employed over 20,000 people.

The city had a great, healthy and happy vibe to it.

And when I went into the countryside on weekend trips, I found the people of Kentucky to be quite great.

Though, in one small town, the local police officer who stopped me for no apparent reason ~recommended~ to me that I get a Kentucky license plate instead of the New York license plate that I had on the car.

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-08 12:06 AM | Reply

This ain't A Good Thing.

Probably not. Pretty early to ground the whole fleet unless they found a significant issue already.

Or maybe it's just an easy way to comply with the flight reductions due to air traffic issues.

#3 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-11-08 12:12 AM | Reply

@#3 ... Pretty early to ground the whole fleet unless they found a significant issue already.

Or maybe it's just an easy way to comply with the flight reductions due to air traffic issues. ...

I'm currently leaning towards the former, rather than the latter.

Grounding a fleet is very significant.

It is not done lightly.

My hope, at this point, is that the fleet was grounded because of unknowns, and not because of knowns.

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-08 12:15 AM | Reply

Grounding a fleet is very significant.

True. That said, the newest one is 25 years old now and they don't have a Pentagon budget to update and maintain them.

#5 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-11-08 12:21 AM | Reply

"We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve," UPS spokesman Jim Mayer said.

There are separate reports that FedEx Express is doing the same, but no further information yet.

#6 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-11-08 12:36 AM | Reply

@#6 ... There are separate reports that FedEx Express is doing the same, but no further information yet. ...

So, possibly, knowns?

#7 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-08 01:19 AM | Reply

So, possibly, knowns?

Well, the UPS grounding was recommended by Boeing...

#8 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-11-08 01:25 AM | Reply