After the engine flew off a UPS cargo plane and caused a crash that killed 15 people in Kentucky, investigators found records of 10 previous flaws in the same key parts that help secure engines to wings of other similar planes — most of them never reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The National Transportation Safety Board focused Tuesday on why no one in government or the industry spotted the concerning trend and took action to prevent it before last November's crash. Investigators also released more than 2,000 pages of related documents as the board began two days of hearings in Washington to examine the disaster's root causes.
The engine separated from the MD-11's left wing as it accelerated down the runway Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport. The crash killed all three pilots on the plane and 12 people on the ground. Twenty-three more were injured.
