The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered all McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft grounded for inspection after UPS and FedEx each decided to ground their MD-11s following a UPS MD-11 crash in Louisville, Ky., that killed 14 people. The FAA’s emergency directive says the unsafe condition may exist in other MD-11s, and Boeing urged operators to suspend MD-11 flights while it conducts additional engineering analysis.
What the MD-11 is and how many are affected
– The MD-11 entered service in the early 1990s; production ended in 2000. Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997.
– MD-11s are a small portion of major carriers’ fleets: UPS has 26 MD-11s out of more than 500 planes, and FedEx has 28 out of roughly 700. Other cargo carriers, such as Western Global Airlines, also operate some MD-11s.
– UPS has been replacing MD-11s with Boeing 767s, and FedEx has been retiring its MD-11s over recent years with plans to wind down the type by the end of the decade.
Could holiday deliveries be delayed?
– Both UPS and FedEx say they have contingency plans to reduce delivery disruption but have not detailed them. Aviation experts say cargo may be shifted to passenger aircraft, trains, and trucks to make up capacity.
– Each UPS MD-11 can carry roughly 20,000 packages, so losing dozens of planes removes meaningful overnight airlift capacity during peak season.
– The impact depends on how long the grounding lasts. If the MD-11s are sidelined for more than a week or two as the holidays approach, delays become increasingly likely, experts say.
Other factors and outlook
– Recent FAA flight caps tied to a government shutdown have primarily affected daytime flights; cargo carriers that fly overnight have been less impacted by those limits.
– Industry forecasts expect holiday package volume to rise about 5% from 2024, to an estimated 2.3 billion packages for the season. It’s unclear whether UPS or FedEx will change their holiday shipping deadlines because of the MD-11 grounding.
– Shipping experts advise shoppers to order early. With ground and rail networks absorbing more volume and carriers activating contingency plans, there is still time to ship, but earlier purchases reduce the risk of delays.
