Airlines lose control when they outsource heavy maintenance, and that could be the root cause of the fatal crash of UPS flight 2976, according to a former FAA airworthiness inspector and NTSB major accident investigator. 

UPS’ CF6-powered, 1991-vintage MD-11F (48417) failed to maintain its climb and crashed after its left engine separated from the wing during takeoff from Louisville, Ky. (SDF).

MROs under microscope

The FAA and NTSB should look closely at the maintenance checks carriers have outsourced to third-party MROs, Stephen Carbone, president of private maintenance consultant firm Aircraft Maintenance Safety Professionals, says.

A former FAA airworthiness inspector and NTSB major accident investigator, Carbone says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” that he believes there is not enough oversight from the FAA or quality control from airlines that outsource aircraft maintenance.

“Since the early ’90s, the airlines have relied a lot more on repair station overhaul facilities to do their work,” Carbone says. “And the problem with that is the airline loses control of the maintenance.”

Tragic similarities

In addition, the November crash had tragic similarities to a 1979 crash of an American Airlines DC-10 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) that killed all 271 people. 

“The basic problem that caused the American Airlines DC-10 crash was the departure of the engine, almost exactly like the UPS MD-11F,” Steve Forness, president of aircraft engineering consultancy Air Flight Technical, says in the podcast. “It went up over the wing. The failure was the aft pylon.”

As a member of the McDonnell-Douglas team assigned to the American Airlines DC-10 crash and an FAA designated engineering representative, Forness aided the NTSB investigation, which identified improper installation of the engines as the cause of the aft bulkhead failure in the pylon.

Although the lessons learned from the DC-10 were implemented into the design and operation of MD-11s, the NTSB revealed in its Nov. 20 preliminary report of the UPS crash that it had discovered fatigue cracks in the pylon aft mount of the left engine.

As the NTSB investigation into UPS flight 2976 continues and around sixty MD-11Fs remain grounded, tune into this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear Carbone and Forness share their insights with Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke on the accident and what could happen before the MD-11Fs return to service.