The UPS cargo jet that crashed and exploded Tuesday in Louisville, Ky., spent much of September and October in San Antonio for maintenance.
The MD-11 aircraft crashed about 5:15 p.m. as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. At least nine people were killed and another 11 injured.
Video showed flames on the 32-year-old plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The jet briefly lifted off the ground before crashing and exploding in a giant fireball.
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The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that one of the plane’s engines fell off as it rolled toward takeoff. With two other engines intact, it gained enough altitude to clear a fence at the end of the runway before crashing.
Plumes of smoke rise from the area of a UPS cargo plane crash Tuesday at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky. At least nine people were killed and 11 more hurt. (Jon Cherry/Associated Press)
Flight tracking services showed that the jet, registered as N259UP, was at San Antonio International Airport between Sept. 3 and Oct. 18. It was parked at and departed from the ST Engineering facility on the airport’s West side.
Singapore-based ST has said previously that its San Antonio site been UPS’ main provider of “heavy maintenance” for MD-11s since the carrier began using the airframe in 2002. ST also converted nearly all of UPS’ MD-11s from passenger to freighter aircraft.
Both UPS and FedEx regularly fly the wide body, three-engined MD-11s into San Antonio. In April 2020, a FedEx MD-11 lost a nose wheel during takeoff from San Antonio. There were no injuries and the craft landed safely.
Earlier this year, the Qatari super-luxury jet that President Donald Trump wants to be converted into a temporary Air Force One spent nearly three months at ST’s facility in San Antonio. It’s now at the L3Harris Technologies Inc. facility at Texas State Technical College Waco Airport.
This article originally published at UPS jet that crashed in Louisville had just been in San Antonio for maintenance.