The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States announced on Thursday, November 6, that the maintenance records of the UPS cargo plane will be a key focus of the investigation following the crash in Louisville, Kentucky. This tragic accident has resulted in at least 13 fatalities.
The NTSB has been investigating the maintenance records of the cargo plane. NTSB member Todd Inman said, “We know that this aircraft had a stop in San Antonio, and we will be reviewing all maintenance records from the time it was in San Antonio up until the date of this flight.”
Inman stated that since the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas in 1997, the committee does not believe there to be any urgent safety issues with the MD-11 aircraft. Currently, there are approximately 50 MD-11 cargo planes still in operation globally, mainly operated by FedEx and UPS.
Investigators have successfully downloaded the data from the two black boxes on the crashed aircraft – the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder – and are currently working on transcribing the cockpit conversation.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo plane, which was 34 years old, reportedly experienced a sudden outbreak of flames on the left wing while taxiing on the runway at Louisville airport, leading to an engine detachment from the wing. The aircraft had a total of three engines.
ST Engineering, the company responsible for maintaining UPS’s MD-11 cargo planes, with headquarters in Singapore and a maintenance facility in San Antonio, Texas, stated that they will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities’ investigation.
UPS announced that the NTSB will handle inquiries related to the recent air disaster, as is customary in aviation accident investigations.
Flight tracking data indicates that the UPS cargo plane was grounded in San Antonio, Texas, from September 3 to October 18.
Following the accident involving the cargo plane, concerns about its safety have been raised. According to records from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on September 18, a structural component in the central fuel tank of the aircraft was found to have a crack, requiring maintenance.
UPS released the crew list for the flight on Thursday, which included Captain Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt, and International Relief Officer Dana Diamond, all of whom perished in the crash.
During the crash, the burning aircraft collided with several buildings near the airport, resulting in at least 10 fatalities.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg stated on Thursday evening that the death toll has increased to 13. Investigators are still on-site searching for clues and potential victims. He mentioned, “There is a significant amount of burned and twisted metal at the scene, and it is possible that some victims are yet to be located.”
Aviation accidents are typically caused by multiple factors, and a preliminary report is expected to be released within 30 days of the accident. Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that poor maintenance of the cargo plane led to the crash.
(This article referenced reporting from Reuters)