UPS plane crash at UPS World port Louisville Ky

[KissMy]

That bearing race was originally 1 solid piece. It is now split & pushed against aft clevis. That would cause grease to only come out the front. So the wing clevis may have been miss aligned. Management may have forced a mechanic to do a shortcut engine remove & replace. So they may have just took these clevis pins out to R&R the Engine & cracked the aft lug or bearing.

The left pylon aft mount was last officially inspected in 2021 and the required 24-month/4,800-hour lubrication task of the pylon thrust links and pylon spherical bearings was performed on October 18, 2025.

The aircraft had recently emerged from a heavy maintenance check conducted by a third-party contractor. Aircraft engines are typically removed during heavy maintenance for detailed inspections, repairs, and overhauls.

Singapore-based company ST Engineering is responsible for the airframe maintenance of the MD-11s and operates a repair facility in San Antonio, where the aircraft was undergoing heavy maintenance shortly before the November 2025 crash.

 

[Zincwarrior]

Update: NTSB identifies part as piece helping hold engine onto wing.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5690424-ntsb-investigation-failed-part-ups-crash-louisville/

 

[odanny]

Update: NTSB identifies part as piece helping hold engine onto wing.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5690424-ntsb-investigation-failed-part-ups-crash-louisville/

I used to test those races for depth hardness where I worked, I would love to know who manufactured the race, all of the bearing assemblies I tested were manufactured by Timken, and in over 20 years, I never encountered low hardness or any fatigue cracks in any of them.

American made, in Ohio.

 

[Zincwarrior]

I used to test those races for depth hardness where I worked, I would love to know who manufactured the race, all of the bearing assemblies I tested were manufactured by Timken, and in over 20 years, I never encountered low hardness or any fatigue cracks in any of them.

American made, in Ohio.

Good question.

 

[odanny]

I don't know if Timken is involved in aviation, if they are, I don't know if their manufacturing is still based in Ohio. It could be made in China now. They should reveal the manufacturer, if they don't, they are not being transparent, for reasons you can probably determine.

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

I used to test those races for depth hardness where I worked, I would love to know who manufactured the race, all of the bearing assemblies I tested were manufactured by Timken, and in over 20 years, I never encountered low hardness or any fatigue cracks in any of them.

American made, in Ohio.

Two A.I. bots say...

I love it when I see US companies sourcing from US suppliers. Too bad the races were bad.

Too bad Boeing got this one wrong. The report says:

Boeing Service Letter MD-11-SL-54-104-A, dated February 7, 2011, informed operators of four
previously reported bearing race failures (on three different airplanes) involving P/N S00399-1
spherical bearing assemblies. Specifically, each failure had initiated at the design recess groove on
the interior surface of the bearing race....
According to the Service Letter, a review of the spherical bearing failure by Boeing determined
it would not result in a safety of flight condition.

I think that might mean that if the race broke and the engine fell off, the plane would still be flyable. Hmm, kind of surprising that one bearing race failure is all it takes for an engine to fall off, but I suppose it's best for the engine to fall off, rather than stay attached in a dangerous configuration.