Fifteen new lawsuits were filed Thursday over the crash of a UPS cargo flight that killed 15 people and injured dozens more in November 2025.
The cases collectively represent over 100 people connected to the crash, including some who lost family members, attorneys said. Others were injured in the disaster or had their business destroyed when the MD-11 slammed into an industrial area shortly after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (KSDF) in Kentucky.
The lawsuits were filed in Jefferson Circuit Court and name as defendants UPS, Boeing, GE, MRO provider VT San Antonio Aerospace, multiple Allianz insurance companies, and the estate of Richard R. Wartenberg, the captain on the accident flight. He was one of three crewmembers killed in the crash.
UPS, Boeing, GE, and VT San Antonio Aerospace have all been targeted in past lawsuits connected to the crash, but this may be the first time the estate of a crewmember has been named as a defendant.
The new lawsuits were filed after “unsuccessful settlement discussions with [the] defendants,” according to Peterson Law, one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs.
The complaints argue that the crash was preventable. The same defect believed to have doomed UPS Flight 2976—failure of its left engine pylon assembly—contributed to the 1979 crash of American Airlines Flight 191, which killed 273 people, the documents state. Boeing issued service bulletins about the known risks in 2011, “but defendants allegedly continued operating the aircraft without adequate safety protocols.”
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, identified cracks in the left pylon from metal fatigue. The agency has not yet released its final report on the accident.
“These lawsuits represent months of methodical investigation into corporate negligence that could have been prevented,” said Masten Childers III, managing partner for the Lexington office of Whiteford Law, another firm involved in the litigation. “We will hold every responsible party accountable.”
Some of the plaintiffs appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America this week to share their stories. Former employees of businesses destroyed in the crash described their brush with death as a “fireball” engulfed the area. One man described pulling a victim out of the fire who later died.
“Corporations made decisions to continue to operate these planes,” Childers told the program. “They took those risks. And those risks came to a head when this plane fell out of the air on top of our clients.”
UPS, Boeing, and GE extended sympathies to the victims and survivors but did not comment specifically on the allegations.
“We remain deeply saddened by Flight 2976,” UPS said in its statement. “Our focus continues to be on supporting those affected and working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board as the investigation continues.”
The crash has raised concerns about the safety of remaining MD-11s. The FAA temporarily banned the aircraft from flying until the entire fleet was inspected and repairs were completed.
The MD-11 was originally manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, and later by Boeing, which acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997. The airplane involved in the crash was converted to cargo operations and flown by UPS since 2006.
UPS said in January that it retired its entire MD-11 fleet.
