Kreindler Investigating UPS Flight 2976 McDonnell Douglas MD-11F Airplane Crash in Louisville, Kentucky
November 4, 2025
What Happened
On Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at approximately 7:23 p.m., a UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11F Freighter aircraft crashed and erupted into flames upon departure from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky. The MD-11F Trijet wide-body airliner was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii. All three people on board were killed, and at least eleven others on the ground were injured in the crash. A Washington Post news report stated that UPS is Louisville, KY’s largest employer.
Kreindler attorneys have represented the victims of two previous UPS cargo aircraft disasters, one in 2010 and another in 2013. The 2010 crash was eerily similar in that it also involved a fire in-flight on the UPS cargo jet.
A retired NTSB investigator previously told The Washington Post that severe fire at the crash site “suggests significant disruption of the engine fuel supply,” which could be a possible consequence of an uncontained engine failure, when a high-speed rotating part of an engine fractures, which can result in catastrophic damage to the engine. In 2018, Kreindler attorneys successfully represented victims of a notable uncontained engine failure - the 2018 Southwest Airlines Flight #1380 case, in which mid-air debris caused by an engine blade failure ruptured the airplane’s cabin and window and resulted in the tragic death of one passenger and injured many others.
In the Louisville crash, after the UPS jet caught fire, it then plowed into a Ford automotive plant. According to a Reuters news article, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said, “We’ve got some initial numbers, but let me tell you I expect them to grow … right now we believe we have at least three fatalities. I believe that number is going to get larger. We have at least 11 injuries, some of them very significant, that are being treated by local hospitals.”
According to the website Flightradar24, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F wide-body cargo plane, registry number N259UP, was 34 years old. In 1991, the aircraft was delivered to Thai Airways International as a passenger plane, and in 2006, it was reconfigured into a freighter for UPS. The MD-11F aircraft was equipped with three General Electric CF6-80C2D1F engines. The left engine was found on the runway having apparently fallen off during the takeoff roll.
In the Media
Preliminary Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the crash of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F.
Kreindler Has Previous Experience Following UPS Airplane Crashes
Kreindler partners Dan Rose and Evan Katin-Borland represented the husband of the first officer following the fatal 2013 crash of a UPS cargo plane that had departed from Louisville, Kentucky, and was attempting a landing in Birmingham, Alabama. The lawsuit cited a faulty Honeywell Aerospace ground warning system that malfunctioned, failing to alert the pilots in time.
Kreindler attorneys also represented the family of a first officer who was killed as the result of a 2010 crash of a UPS international cargo flight attempting to land near Dubai International Airport. This was the first fatal crash of a UPS cargo flight and the investigation showed that even though fire began in the cargo area of the plane, it engulfed the plane and eventually caused the crash near the airport.
About Kreindler
Kreindler is the preeminent aviation accident law firm in the world. Our attorneys have been appointed leading counsel in nearly every major commercial airline disaster case in the U.S. and abroad. The firm was recently named 2024 Transportation Law Firm of the Year by the National Law Journal. Kreindler’s aviation practice is led by attorneys who are also commercial-rated, veteran military pilots. Kreindler’s aviation accident attorneys have achieved an unmatched record of success representing people globally who have been injured or lost family members in international and domestic airline disasters. Our firm maintains offices in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.