en.Wedoany.com Reported - FedEx Express has returned four of its McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighters to commercial service to meet capacity demands during the second-half peak shipping season. This move further solidifies FedEx's position as the world's last major operator of the MD-11. After UPS Airlines permanently retired its MD-11 fleet following last year's Louisville accident, FedEx has become the primary operator of this tri-jet freighter.
FedEx currently operates approximately 385 aircraft, including 29 MD-11Fs, which still account for about 7.5% of its fleet. These aircraft primarily serve high-density domestic and intercontinental cargo routes. The four aircraft are the first to resume operations after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Boeing's structural inspection and modification program, developed following the November 2025 Louisville accident. As fleet maintenance progresses, more aircraft are expected to gradually return to service.
On November 4, 2025, the MD-11 fleet was grounded worldwide after UPS Airlines Flight 2976 crashed. The flight, en route from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport to Honolulu, experienced a left engine separation during takeoff roll due to a pylon attachment component failure. The aircraft subsequently lost control and crashed, killing all three crew members on board and twelve people on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to lead the investigation. The FAA subsequently issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring inspections of the engine pylon attachment system, effectively grounding all active MD-11 and MD-11F aircraft operating in the United States.
Boeing, in collaboration with the FAA and operators, developed an enhanced inspection program and replaced or reinforced critical spherical bearing components in the engine attachment structure. The FAA approved the return-to-service plan in May 2026, allowing operators to reintroduce aircraft after completing inspections and modifications. FedEx gradually completed maintenance, inspections, and validation flights, enabling the first four aircraft to resume regular operations.
Following the accident, FedEx and UPS adopted markedly different long-term strategies for their MD-11 fleets. FedEx chose to retain the aircraft type, citing the significant capital investment and capacity reduction that would result from replacing nearly thirty long-range freighters in the short term. The company expects the MD-11 to remain in service until around 2032, providing additional capacity until next-generation freighters are delivered. UPS Airlines, which had already begun phasing out its aging tri-jet aircraft before the Louisville accident, opted to permanently retire the MD-11 after the incident, accelerating its ongoing fleet modernization plan and continuing to expand its Boeing 767F and Boeing 747-8F fleets. UPS operates approximately 269 aircraft and had 27 MD-11Fs in service before the accident. This decision was primarily based on long-term fleet economics rather than regulatory constraints, as the FAA-approved modification program already allowed compliant aircraft to resume commercial operations.
The return of these four MD-11Fs to service marks a turning point for the aircraft type itself. With UPS exiting, FedEx now operates virtually the entire active commercial MD-11 freighter fleet globally, making the aircraft effectively a FedEx-exclusive type. The company will increasingly become the primary driver of maintenance support, spare parts demand, and operational expertise for the MD-11. FedEx's decision does not signal a broad revival of the MD-11 but rather reflects a pragmatic fleet management strategy: extracting maximum value from the aircraft while maintaining network capacity until sufficient next-generation aircraft are acquired.
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