The crash that killed three UPS crew members at Louisville’s Worldport hub in 2024 has just become a multi-defendant federal lawsuit. New filings name UPS, Boeing, the late captain’s estate, and several other parties — and the language in the complaint suggests the case is shaping up to be the most consequential cargo-aviation crash litigation since Colgan Air.

The MD-11 freighter, a wide-bodied tri-jet built in the early 1990s, failed to climb after taking off from Louisville International Airport. It crashed less than two miles from the runway. All three crew members died. UPS continued operating its MD-11 fleet for several months afterwards before quietly accelerating the type’s retirement.

Why Boeing Is Named

Boeing did not build the MD-11 — McDonnell Douglas did, before the two companies merged in 1997. But Boeing inherited the type certificate and is, in legal terms, the responsible manufacturer for all surviving safety, airworthiness, and design-defect liability. Any product-liability claim against an MD-11 today is filed against Boeing.

The complaint reportedly raises long-standing concerns about the MD-11’s takeoff handling characteristics — a topic that has dogged the type since its 1991 entry into service. The aircraft has historically had a narrower margin for pitch-attitude error during takeoff and landing than comparable widebodies, and several earlier fatal crashes (including FedEx 80 at Narita in 2009) involved similar performance envelopes.

Naming the Pilot’s Estate

The most unusual feature of the new filings is that the late captain’s estate is named as a defendant alongside UPS and Boeing. This is uncommon — aviation plaintiffs typically pursue corporate defendants only — and suggests that initial investigative findings may point toward pilot inputs as a contributing factor.

The NTSB has not yet released its final probable-cause determination. Whatever conclusion it reaches will reshape the litigation. For now, the lawyers have moved first — and they have named everyone.

Sources: FLYING Magazine, NTSB preliminary report, federal court filings.