UPS has officially retired its remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighters, formally ending operations with the three-engine aircraft following a deadly November accident and the subsequent grounding of the fleet.
The decision was disclosed in the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release, published on Tuesday, in which the company confirmed it recorded a non-cash, after-tax charge tied to the accelerated retirement of the MD-11 aircraft. UPS did not specify an exact retirement date but indicated the fleet was removed from service during the fourth quarter.
UPS grounded its MD-11 fleet in November after an accident at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport that killed the aircraft’s three pilots and 12 people on the ground. At the time, the company said the grounding the aircraft was out of an abundance of caution while the crash was investigated.
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate the accident.
Prior to the grounding, the MD-11 made up a minority portion of UPS’ widebody fleet and was primarily used on long-haul international cargo routes.
The company maintained the second-largest MD-11 fleet in the world, with 31 aircraft in service before the accident. FedEx has the largest MD-11 fleet with 61 jets, which are also grounded.
(Photo: McDonnell Douglas MD-11, courtesy of FlightRadar.com)
By Ryan Ewing, Airline Geeks.com and Ken Howlett, News Director
