The National Transportation Safety Board has released surveillance video showing the dramatic separation of the left engine and pylon from a UPS Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) MD-11F shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The footage, taken from an airport camera, captures the engine and pylon breaking away from the left wing of UPS flight 2976 just after liftoff from runway 17R, moments before the aircraft crashed into nearby buildings.
The November 4, 2025 cargo flight to Honolulu was destroyed in the ensuing impact and fire, killing all three crewmembers and 11 people on the ground, and injuring 23 others. The NTSB said the remaining two pylon connections subsequently failed, leading to the in-flight separation of the engine-pylon assembly.
In a mid-investigation update, investigators reported evidence of fatigue cracking in a spherical bearing assembly within the engine mount, consistent with a design issue Boeing had previously highlighted in a 2011 service letter after four earlier bearing race failures. The NTSB is examining how that service letter was implemented by UPS and reviewing related correspondence between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. The board has not yet determined the extent to which the bearing failure contributed to the crash, and the investigation remains ongoing.