The families of victims killed in the UPS Airlines MD-11 freighter crash last month are set to file a wrongful death lawsuit against multiple parties. According to reports, the suit alleges negligence on the part of UPS and also names engine manufacturer GE Aerospace and planemaker Boeing, which took over McDonnell Douglas, the MD-11’s original manufacturer.

Last month’s tragic crash led to the death of 14 people, including the three-person crew and another 11 people on the ground, after the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter’s left engine ripped off the airframe during takeoff, sending it plummeting into an industrial park. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has since revealed in its preliminary report that it found evidence of fatigue cracking on the aircraft.

UPS MD-11 Crash Families To File Wrong Death Lawsuit

As first reported by Reuters, legal firms representing the families of two individuals lost in the November 4 crash are due to file the first wrongful death lawsuits on Wednesday. Clifford Law Offices of Chicago and Sam Aguiar of Louisville are representing the families of Angela Anderson, a 45-year-old mother who was a customer of a business hit by the freighter, as well as Trina Chavez, a 37-year-old mother employed at Grade A Auto Parts.

The suit claims negligence against UPS and UPS Air. It also names GE as the engine manufacturer, Boeing as the successor to McDonnell Douglas (the MD-11’s original manufacturer) and VT San Antonio Aerospace, which conducted inspections and maintenance prior to the crash. Clifford Law Offices stated that the MD-11 airframe was « old, tired, and well beyond its useful life, » raising questions about whether profits were prioritized over safety. Bradley Cosgrove from Clifford said:

« When an engine detaches from a large cargo jet during takeoff, and the aircraft bursts into a fireball visible for miles, an entire community is affected. Innocent lives are lost, leaving deep holes in families. Impacted survivors are left with injuries and lifelong scars, with their normal lives shattered by an explosion that many people compared to a bomb going off next door. »

Class Action Suit

This is not the first legal action advanced by those affected by last month’s crash. Just two days after the accident, a class action suit was launched against UPS, Boeing, and GE, detailing the significant health and financial impact it had on residents and businesses. This included toxic smoke inhalation and the complete destruction of many livelihoods.

Led by Morgan & Morgan injury law firm, the suit cited previous accidents or failures involving the MD-11 and GE’s CFM 6 engine, including a 2009 FedEx MD-11 crash in Tokyo and multiple CFM 6 safety incidents. It added that the MD-11 has the second-worst safety record of any commercial jet in service today, being involved in 11 hull loss incidents, which is over 5% of all airframes built over the MD-11’s 12-year production run.

MD-11 Fleet Remains Grounded

In the aftermath of November’s crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency airworthiness directive to ground the global MD-11 fleet, and this is expected to last well into next year. In fact, the MD-11 may have already operated its final flight if its flaws are seen as too significant or expensive to fix.

While the MD-11 is no longer in service as a commercial passenger jet, it still sees extensive use as a freighter. There are still around 60 MD-11s that are operational (before the grounding, that is), all of which were in service with three US cargo airlines: FedEx Express, Western Global Airlines, and UPS Airlines.

*Data from ch-aviation

The MD-11 completed its maiden flight in 1990 before the first delivery to launch customer Finnair took place later that year. As the largest trijet ever built, the MD-11 possesses unusual flight characteristics that have forced operators to implement special training for pilots.