NTSB probes why a UPS jet lost an engine and crashed on takeoff | CNN

The National Transportation Safety Board convened a two day hearing on Tuesday to investigate why a UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11F lost an engine and crashed after taking off last year from Louisville, Kentucky. “We issue safety recommendations … they are to be taken seriously,” said Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the NTSB. “Those recommendations are aimed, they’re comprehensive, they’re extensive, and they’re aimed at preventing another tragedy. If they’re not implemented … we will be here again.” On November 4, UPS flight 2976, a cargo plane headed to Hawaii, crashed moments after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, spreading flames and wreckage for a half-mile and sending black smoke billowing into the sky. Fifteen people died, including the three crew members on the plane, and one person who succumbed to their injuries 51 days after the crash. Twenty-three people on the ground were injured. The UPS freighter was a 34-year-old jet with three engines: two on the wings and one on the tail. The hearing comes just days after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the same type of aircraft to return to the skies. Now, the NTSB will q