Just saw the preliminary report from the MD-11 crash in Louisville (Main Page, Preliminary PDF). As for the cause, no surprise but want to go back and check one thing on maintenance before commenting on such.
One thing I can say is that I expect this will end the use of MD-10/MD-11 planes in the U.S. The issues with the pylons and attachments are ongoing and it is not clear that even aggressive inspection and maintenance will be sufficient. Or, rather, it is going to be costly to operations. It’s also more than the direct costs: it is going to be insurance, litigation (and threats thereof), and public relations in regards continued use.
That said, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the testing being done at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) labs. A soft landing in this case might be a recommendation by the NTSB that the 10/11 be retired, which the FAA could then make a directive. This could allow various insurance and other protections to proceed.
In a way, it’s a bit sad. The plane (s, I am referring to the 10/11s as one) has been a wide-body heavy workhorse, though with some stigma. A lot of that came from the 3-engine design of it and the L-1011 TriStar. Both were advanced aircraft in terms of technology, and there were some accidents that resulted in the public being wary of them at first.
I seem to remember a movie being made about the L-1011 crash in the Everglades that brought up the story that the ghost of one of the crewmembers killed in the crash was reported to have said that there would never be another crash of a L-1011. If a ghost did say that (great TV and propaganda, not so sure it’s real history) they were wrong, but it was many years before there was another crash.
The crash in Louisville is very similar to the crash in Chicago a number of years back. Same engine involved, similar pylon issues though that one was blamed on using forklifts to remove/replace the engines if I remember correctly. From what I was reading in the preliminary, I really think the metalurgical tests are going to pretty well make or break the future of the plane.
I have flown as a passenger on the L-1011 and the DC-10 (not sure about the 11), and have both loaded and done pushback on cargo DC-10 & 11s. So glad to do pushbacks with a batmobile versus a tug, as they truly are heavies (esp. loaded). This made using a tug not particularly fun, whereas the batmobiles would pick up the nose wheel and made pushing and turning a breeze (and even fun).
The three-engine widebodies had range and capacity. They filled a particular niche in cargo operations that can be covered but not necessarily fully replaced. For certain routes and operations, they really were the best choice.
That said, I’m not sure the pylon issues can be overcome. Even if they can, how insurers and others react to them continuing to be used is going to drive a lot of decisions. Air transport is costly enough as it is. If insurance and other costs go up too much, the planes will be gone even if a way is found to keep them flying. If I were in an air cargo C-suite right now, I’d be looking at my options very carefully and with an eye towards moving away from use of the 10s-11s.
Nor is it necessarily a loss to the air cargo companies. It is not uncommon, as I understand it, for those companies to buy the planes, then sell them to an outside company, who then leases the plane back to the air cargo company who then operates it including basic maintenance. Yes, tax laws and regulations are the big reason for this (again, as I understand it). Now, if I were the company that actually owned the plane, I’d be looking at options and for an overseas buyer.
And, yes, I am still monitoring the NTSB investigation into the DC crash (main page). The transcripts of the radio and internal coms is interesting. I’ve got my suspicions on what happened and what is likely to be in the final report. That said, still not jumping in as I may have missed something. I do think closing that corridor was long overdue. I am also still waiting for the final on the air ambulance crash as well.
More soon.
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