Honestly, whenever we see a headline about a plane crash, our brains go straight to "is it safe to fly?"
The news cycle today is heavy. We're looking at a massive update from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding the UPS Flight 2976 disaster. It's been a few months since that fireball in Louisville, but the details coming out right now—specifically about a part that failed four times before—are genuinely unsettling.
Fifteen people died. Three crew members in the cockpit and twelve people just going about their day on the ground. It's a tragedy that feels like a throwback to a different era of aviation, and frankly, that's because it is.
The Broken Part Boeing Knew About
The air crash today news revolves around a specific component: the spherical bearing race. Basically, it’s a part of the assembly that pins the massive engine to the wing.
On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, the NTSB dropped a bombshell report. They found that Boeing (which took over McDonnell Douglas) actually documented four previous failures of this exact part type dating all the way back to 2011. Imagine that. The part meant to keep a jet engine attached while hurtling through the air had a known history of "overstress failure and fatigue cracking."
Boeing told plane owners about it years ago. But—and this is the part that’s rubbing people the wrong way—they didn't think it was a "safety of flight" issue. They suggested checking it during general inspections. You know, the ones that happen every five years or so.
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Why the Engine Just... Fell Off
It sounds like a movie script. A plane is rolling down the runway at Muhammad Ali International Airport, the pilots pull back on the yoke, and suddenly the left engine just detaches. It didn't just stop working. It physically ripped away.
Witnesses saw fire on the wing immediately. The plane briefly got into the air, but without that engine and with the resulting damage to the wing's hydraulics and structure, it was a lost cause. It slammed into an industrial complex nearby.
The NTSB is now looking at why these cracks weren't caught. The plane’s last big check was in October 2021. It wasn't due for another deep dive for another 7,000 flights. But fatigue doesn't always wait for a schedule.
The MD-11: A Workhorse With a Past
You don't see the MD-11 at passenger gates anymore. It’s been retired from that world for a long time. But in the cargo world? UPS and FedEx love them. They're big, they're strong, and they have that distinctive third engine on the tail.
But this crash is a haunting echo of 1979. Back then, an American Airlines DC-10 (the MD-11’s predecessor) lost an engine on takeoff in Chicago. 273 people died. In that case, it turned out maintenance crews were using a forklift to move engines around and accidentally cracked the mounts.
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Is this the same thing? Maybe not. The NTSB report suggests this might be a design flaw or a material failure that was "baked in" rather than a maintenance error.
Current Safety Groundings
If you’re wondering if these planes are still flying today, the answer is mostly "no."
- UPS grounded their entire MD-11 fleet immediately after the November crash.
- FedEx followed suit shortly after.
- The FAA has placed a temporary ban on the airframe type until the NTSB can figure out if every single one of those engine mounts needs to be replaced with the "redesigned" part Boeing mentioned in 2011.
Other Aviation Incidents This Week
While the Louisville investigation is the big "air crash today news" story, it’s not the only thing happening in the skies.
Just yesterday, January 14, a Cessna 750 had a landing gear collapse at Telluride Regional Airport in Colorado. Thankfully, the three people on board walked away. Then you have the tragic news out of Colombia from a few days ago, where a Piper PA-31 went down in Paipa, killing six people, including the popular singer Yeison Jiménez.
It feels like a lot. But experts like Tim Atkinson, a former investigator, say we have to look at the "rate" of accidents, not just the headlines. Even with these high-profile cargo and general aviation crashes, 2025 ended as one of the safest years on record for commercial travel.
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What This Means for You
You aren't likely to be sitting on an MD-11 for your next vacation to Orlando. These are cargo planes. However, the scrutiny on Boeing is reaching a fever pitch. Between the 737 MAX issues of years past and now these revelations about 15-year-old known flaws in the MD-11 fleet, the pressure for "safety over profit" is the loudest it's ever been.
Actionable Insights for the Concerned Traveler:
- Check the Airframe: If you're nervous, apps like FlightRadar24 show you the exact model of the plane you're booked on. Stick to newer fleets if it makes you feel better.
- Cargo Matters: Even though you aren't on the plane, these crashes happen over populated areas. Support for stricter "age-out" rules for cargo planes is growing in Congress.
- Follow the NTSB: The final report on the UPS crash won't be out for months. Watch for "Airworthiness Directives" (ADs) from the FAA. Those are the legal orders that force airlines to fix things immediately.
The investigation is far from over. Lawyers are already filing suits against Boeing and General Electric (the engine maker), and the families in Louisville are still waiting for a "why" that actually makes sense. For now, the "air crash today news" is a stark reminder that in aviation, what you don't fix can come back to haunt you a decade later.
Next Steps for Staying Informed:
Monitor the FAA's official "Preliminary Accident and Incident" reports which are updated daily. You can also track the NTSB’s public docket for Flight 2976 to see the actual photos of the fractured bearing race as they are released to the public.