New Photos Show Engine/Pylon Separation, ‘Evidence Of Fatigue Cracks’

The National Transportation Safety Board released its Preliminary Report on the crash of UPS Flight 2976 on November 4, 2025, as it took off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) in Kentucky. The 3 crew members on board and 11 people on the ground were fatally injured, and 23 additional people on the ground were injured.

Following the accident, the NTSB traveled to the airport on November 5, started to document the accident site, and collected any perishable data related to the investigation.

Newly-released airport surveillance video shows the separation of the left engine and pylon from the left wing, igniting a fire that engulfed the left wing and caused the aircraft to roll to the left and impact buildings and the ground about a half mile beyond the runway end.

In the frame-by-frame photos from the surveillance video, the left engine can be seen rotating upward from the wing, and as it detaches from the wing, a fire ignites that engulfs both the departing engine/pylon and the area of the wing where the engine was attached.

The report says that the fire ignited near the left pylon attachment area. In its technical findings, the report The board said there was “evidence of fatigue cracks” and “areas of overstress failure” in the left pylon aft mount lug fractures and the “Spherical bearing outer race had fractured circumferentially.

The last detailed visual inspection of the left pylon aft mount was performed on October 28, 2021, and wasn’t due for another for about 7,000 more flights.

The investigation is continuing with the involvement of the FAA, UPS, Boeing, Independent Pilots Association, and GE Aerospace. It is focusing on structures, systems, powerplants, and human performance.

FMI:  www.ntsb.gov/