A part that broke on a UPS plane that crashed in Kentucky failed 4 times on other planes years ago

Boeing warned plane owners in 2011 about a broken part that contributed to a UPS plane crash that killed 15 last year but at that point the plane manufacturer didn’t believe it threatened safety, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.

By JOSH FUNK
Updated 4:00 PM CST, January 14, 2026
Boeing warned plane owners in 2011 about a broken part that contributed to a UPS plane crash that killed 15 last year but at that point the plane manufacturer didn’t believe it threatened safety, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.

The UPS plane crashed in November 2025 shortly after taking off in Louisville, Kentucky, when the left engine flew off the wing as the plane rolled down the runway.

The NTSB said Wednesday that Boeing had documented in 2011 there were four previous failures of a part that helps secure the MD-11’s engines to the wings on three different planes, but at that point the plane manufacturer “determined it would not result in a safety of flight condition.” These planes were actually built by McDonnell Douglas, which was later bought by Boeing.

The NTSB previously said investigators found cracks in some of the parts that held the engine to the wing. Those cracks hadn’t been caught in regular maintenance done on the plane, which raised questions about the adequacy of the maintenance schedule. The last time those key engine mount parts were examined closely was in October 2021, and the plane wasn’t due for another detailed inspection for roughly 7,000 more takeoffs and landings.

LINK TO NTSB INVESTIGATION (Updated 2026-01-14) UPS Flight 2976 Crash During Takeoff

At least 21 dead after two high-speed trains derailed in Spain

The accident happened at 6:40pm in Adamuz near Córdoba on Sunday, local time, after the train headed for Madrid jumped onto the track in the opposite direction and hit an oncoming train, the Spanish rail network operator, ADIF, said.
...

Mr Puente said it was "really strange" that a derailment should have happened on a straight stretch of track. This section of track was renewed in May, he added.

Very odd.

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Grant
Darwin NT

From the article:

A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had also been on board the train to Madrid.

"Ten minutes after departing [from Cordoba]

the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us

," she wrote.

I wonder if there is a bad section of track that was out of alignment or deformed causing the derailment?

Second severe train accident in Spain within days, this time in Catalonia region near Barcelona. Driver killed, 37 passengers injured, five severly... Looks like damage to tracks due to weather/storm force...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1m78xl0gmpo

Oh dear, Oopsie!
Even not low bridges can have problems.
Bruce Highway blocked after excavator strikes Ilkley Road bridge at Tanawha on Sunshine Coast




I'm thinking that's going to be closed, or at the very least closed to anything over 2 tonnes with a significantly reduced speed limit, for quite some time.

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Grant
Darwin NT

I'm thinking that's going to be closed, or at the very least closed to anything over 2 tonnes with a significantly reduced speed limit, for quite some time.

Tonnage and speed limit?

One of five girders is destroyed. The second one behind looks heavily damaged too. I'd assume those two have to be replaced. How to do that without dismantling the roadway on top of it first? I also don't believe there can be any traffic below the bridge during repairs...

An expensive moment of inattention...

Tonnage and speed limit?

Heavy vehicle limit is 100km/hr, but not unusual for them to be doing 100km/+, and that section of road is 110km/hr, although a slight climb from the looks of it on Google Earth.
The Excavator alone looks like a mid-size to smaller large size unit- so probably 25 tonne+, and it looks like the arm wasn't just a little high and clipped the bridge. Wild arse guess- 30cm+ above the maximum height
It was a big hit.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Take a ride across frozen sea on Estonia's ice road

Temperatures in northern Europe have been so low that citizens of Estonia can now drive across a 20-kilometer (12 1/2-mile) stretch of frozen sea linking the country's two main islands.

The so-called “ice road” connecting the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, located in western Estonia between the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, was officially opened on Sunday [...]

[...] Workers have to measure ice thickness every 100 meters (328 feet) to determine the areas with more than 24 centimeters (9 1/2 inches) of ice, the minimum required for safety. They also smooth over ridged ice and cracks. Weather conditions and the solidity of ice are monitored around the clock and the route amended accordingly.

A vehicle cannot be heavier than 2.5 tons (5,500 pounds) and it has to drive either below 20 kph (12.4 mph), or between 40 and 70 kph (25 and 43 mph) — anything in between can create a vibration that damages the ice. Cars are not allowed to stop and need to maintain a safe distance from one other. Passengers cannot wear seat belts and doors must be easy to open, to allow for fast exit in case of an accident.

Looks like we need licencing for GPS navigation systems- if you're too stupid to use it, you're not allowed to. Unfortunately that isn't working for motorised vehicles, so i don't see it working here either.
Maybe every few minutes GPS navigation systems need to flash up on their screen "Local signage over-rules any and all GPS map routes" with an Acknowledge button on the screen they have to press to see the map again?

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Grant
Darwin NT

Boss says follow the GPS or you are fired~

Boss says follow the GPS or you are fired~

I don't believe the GPS is to blame. You can try that out with e.g. Google Maps.

It will never offer to use that 'Broomway' mudpath in the first place, even if it's the shortest path from some spot near the coastline to another on Foulness Island. But you can force Google Maps to accept (manually edit) a routing via this 'Broomway', as long as it's set to pedestrian or bicycle mode; never in the car mode.

So, I think this was pure stupidity. There's a pathway. The first couple of meters of which are paved (cobbled), leading into the tidelands. So there's a clearly visible path and no obstacles like trees or deep holes are narrowing the track for a car... Why shouldn't I drive along there? There was ebb tide, solid surface...

As to warning signs: I don't know how the situation in England is, but these drivers in Germany are mostly migrant workers from the Middle East. They don't know the country well, like e.g. dangers of mud paths in tidelands. It's most welcome they have a job. But they are driving all day, late into the evening... always alone, nobody to talk to... Takes some time to learn the language this way...

I've already watched a DHL driver on temporary employment in the busy Christmas season reading a postal address from a parcel character by character and comparing these 'symbols' to the many listed on a large doorbell nameplate at my larger apartment house.

But he possessed a driver's licence, isn't it? I think authorities are more strict with approving foreign truck or bus licenses here... but definitely not with ordinary licenses for cars (up to large vans, less than 3.5 tons).

I wouldn't suggest that the driver was not from the UK, as anyone not from the immediate part of Essex may not know the perils of that track. It is passible, but only at very low tide, and after extended dry periods, and with a local guide. Many years ago I both walked and drove the whole of the complex of those tracks, but not in a delivery van. I suspect the driver attempted to use the track to get between two deliveries, say one to the industrial unit on Stairs Lane and somewhere in west Newlands - there is a perfectly dry route, but it involves a couple of MOD control points, at each of which one has to prove "need of access" (and parcel delivery is an acceptable proof of need of access).
It is worth noting that on some maps (NOT GOOGLE) the whole network of tracks is shown as being open to public use. There used to be a lot of signs warning about only accessing the tracks without adequate maps, knowledge of the tides and the current exact route of the tracks, oh and if the red flags are flying one may find that the MOD is undertaking weapons testing, plus there may be unexploded munitions at or near the surface....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

That Amazon van has been recovered.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9qKOZC-JnW0

Airborne Truck Flies 100 Feet Into Oregon Home as Driver Is Arrested

A pickup truck became an airborne projectile in the early morning hours in Tigard, Oregon, crashing directly into a residential home and narrowly missing a family of five inside. Police say the driver was arrested at the scene after the violent crash left a house heavily damaged and sent first responders racing to the neighborhood.

The incident unfolded just before 3 a.m. along Shoals Ferry Road, when authorities say the driver lost control of the truck at high speed. According to Tigard police, the vehicle struck a dirt mound, cleared a retaining wall, and launched roughly 100 feet through the air before slamming into the front of a home.

Two people were inside the pickup truck when it crashed, police said. Both occupants were transported to a hospital with injuries described as minor. Investigators noted that the driver was able to climb out of the wreckage following the crash.

Police arrested the driver on a charge of reckless driving. Authorities have not released the driver’s identity or indicated whether additional charges are expected as the investigation continues. Officials have also not confirmed whether speed, impairment, or other factors contributed to the crash, though police said the circumstances remain under review.

Speeding Hellcat leaves 500-foot path of destruction during crash in Fresno, CHP says

A high-speed crash at a busy Fresno intersection last week left a trail of destruction stretching more than 500 feet after a muscle car went airborne.

Investigators say the driver of the Dodge Charger Hellcat was traveling at an excessive speed at Shaw and Maroa Avenues on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

As the vehicle crested the road near the intersection, it became airborne then slammed down and plowed through a series of objects along the corridor.

The impact sheared off a street sign, tore through a bus stop — including the bench — twisted a business marquee, shattered storefront windows, struck a parked vehicle and gouged into a brick wall before finally coming to rest nearly a block away.

Authorities estimate the path of destruction covered more than 500 feet.

Despite the extensive damage and the vehicle being declared a total loss, the driver walked away “unharmed,” according to the California Highway Patrol.

(According to police Drugs and alcohol didn't have anything to do with the crash, rather it was high speed.)

“When I ran over there, the kid came out. He was all cut, but he was fine. He came out alive,” the owner said.

I wonder what he meant by "kid"?

Over here there are certain power/weight limits for those under 21yrs or without an open licence or have passed the Advanced Drivers course.

Cheers.

DUI crash driver ‘still inhaling whippets’ (laughing gas) while trapped in wreckage: police

At the scene, police located a black Land Rover SUV that collided into the brick wall, “punching a substantial hole into the brickwork.”

According to Sebastopol police, officers found the suspect inside the vehicle who was “still inhaling whippets, which contain nitrous oxide.” After the man was removed from the vehicle, he was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital. He was since transported to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Jail where he faces a charge of driving under the influence.

(Translated from Norwegian to English from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp 'NRK' website)
Car drove 20 meters into the shop: – Reoler has overturned

Once at the scene, they were able to ascertain that the car had driven approximately 20 meters into the premises of a grocery store.



– There must have been few customers in the store when the incident occurred, but no one was physically injured, says (store) operations manager to NRK.

It was staff in the store who notified the emergency services.

... The police are questioning the driver to map the course of events.