Louisville: The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it has discovered evidence of fatigue cracks in critical components of a UPS MD-11 cargo plane that crashed in Kentucky earlier this month, a significant development in the inquiry into the November 4 crash that resulted in 14 fatalities.
According to Thai News Agency, the fatigue cracks were found in the support structure of the left engine pylon, which attaches the engine to the wing. Aviation safety specialists indicate that this finding is crucial in understanding the circumstances of the Louisville accident.
The NTSB's preliminary report revealed that the fatigue cracks existed before the accident and were located in the left pylon aft mount lug. Additionally, areas showing overstress failure were identified, leading to the failure of one side of the engine pylon support due to fatigue. This failure meant the other side could not handle the additional load.
US safety inspectors have been examining the maintenance history of the 34-year-old UPS cargo plane, which had undergone repairs in Texas weeks before catching fire after takeoff. Maintenance was conducted at ST Engineering's repair center in Singapore, and the aircraft had not yet completed enough flights to necessitate a detailed inspection of the part in question.
In response to the incident, UPS and FedEx temporarily grounded their MD-11 fleets this month as a safety precaution and following advice from US aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also issued a temporary grounding of the MD-11 and DC-10 aircraft due to their similar design.