A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into the crash of UPS2976 has confirmed that the No. 1 Engine detached from the wing during takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky.
A harrowing sequence of images from the NTSB shows the aircraft starting to rotate from the runway when the left-hand engine, known as No. 1, detaches from the wing, sparking a fire at the engine pylon. The engine then flew into the air before crashing into the ground next to the runway.
The NTSB said that as a result of this, the aircraft was unable to remain airborne and after reaching a maximum altitude of just 30ft above the ground, crashed into industrial buildings outside the airport, killing all onboard and 11 people on the ground.
Focus will now turn to why the engine detached, with the NTSB confirming that the left engine pylon mount had been recovered, and that both the fore and aft lugs had fractured, and that the spherical bearing that attached the pylon to the wing had separated.
Testing by the materials laboratory revealed fatigue cracking on multiple fracture surfaces. As a result, further investigations are underway to find the extent and origin of this fatigue.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had already issued an airworthiness directive for all models of the MD11 and DC10, effectively grounding them, until inspections were carried out and any neccescary rectifications were made.
The NTSB investigation is still ongoing and these are just the preliminary findings.
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