Clifford Law Offices’ counsel in the litigation involving the tragic crash of a UPS cargo jet that killed 15 people and injured dozens more said that the announced retirement Tuesday, January 27, 2026, of the entire fleet of the faulty jet that crashed is yet another example or “graveyard engineering,” or “the sad truth that corporations refuse to improve faulty engineering until there is a loss of life,” as Bradley M. Cosgrove, Partner, Clifford Law Offices said.
In its earnings report, UPS, the massive shipping and logistics company, made this announcement today during its quarterly earnings call. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 was the plane type involved in the November 4, 2025, deadly crash. It accounted for about 9 percent of the UPS fleet.
“It’s tragic and very unfortunate that in America, large corporations like UPS do not engage in responsible conduct until someone is negligently injured or by the ultimate loss, wrongful death,” Cosgrove said. “Wrongdoers refuse to exercise due care and are forced to do the right thing to improve a product or take it off of the market completely, only after the innocent loss of lives. Those who perished and were injured by this crash will have their day in court, but one of the lasting legacies for them will be this improvement in public safety.”
Clifford Law Offices was the first law firm to file wrongful death claims in this tragic incident that crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky’s airport, creating a huge explosion in a nearby recycling facility. The firm, along with local counsel Sam Aguiar of Louisville, filed another lawsuit on Friday, January 23, on behalf of a young girl whose father was killed in the crash, suffering for seven weeks in the hospital with severe burns until he died on Christmas Day.
Preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicate that the aircraft’s left engine and pylon separated from the wing shortly after takeoff, and subsequent inspections revealed several areas of fatigue cracks in the mounting system that attached the pylon to the wing. The investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing.
All MD11s were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration shortly after the crash that killed 15 people, pending further investigation, “out of an abundance of caution.”
For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell) or pammenaker@cliffordlaw.com.