# Experts weigh in on UPS 2976 crash

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cargo-facts-connect-613544/experts-weigh-in-on-ups-2976-crash
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cargo-facts-connect-613544/experts-weigh-in-on-ups-2976-crash.md
Podcast: [Cargo Facts Connect](https://stenobird.com/podcast/cargo-facts-connect-613544)
Published: 2025-12-06T10:06:24+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/2fe0beb6
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/2fe0beb6/9f3546c9.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/cargo-facts-connect-613544/episodes/experts-weigh-in-on-ups-2976-crash
Duration seconds: 2464

## Resource

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 ident…

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