McDonnell Douglas MD-11 FedEx Express
Registration: N596FE Named: Peyton Type: MD-11 F Engines: 3 × GE CF6-80C2D1F Serial Number: 48554 First flight: Feb 1993
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is one of the last wide-body trijet airliners ever built by the American aviation industry. Developed as an evolutionary successor to the legendary DC-10, it made its maiden flight in 1990 and quickly found its calling not only in passenger service but — most successfully — as a freighter.
It is in this role that the MD-11 has become a true legend for FedEx Express. FedEx is the largest operator of this aircraft type: the company's fleet comprises 34 MD-11F aircraft, twenty-five of which were in active service at the time of the most recent events.
The MD-11F wins over its operators with outstanding performance figures: payload capacity reaches approximately 91 tonnes, while range with a full load stands at around 7,200 kilometres. Its three engines deliver reliable thrust even on the longest transoceanic routes.
In November 2025, however, a serious threat loomed over the MD-11 fleet. On the 4th of November, a UPS MD-11F cargo aircraft was destroyed in a crash in Louisville, Kentucky — the left engine separated in flight, killing 14 people. The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive and grounded all MD-11s pending inspections for fatigue cracks in the engine pylon attachments. FedEx was forced to stand down its entire fleet of the type.
The two largest operators responded in diametrically opposite ways. Since UPS was already in the process of retiring the MD-11, the tragedy merely accelerated that decision, and in late January the company announced the permanent withdrawal of all 27 of its aircraft, replacing them with the more modern Boeing 767-300. FedEx, by contrast, is in no hurry to part with its jets. Company management expressed "high confidence in the safe return" of the MD-11F to service and expects the flight ban to be lifted between March and May 2026. The enforced grounding cost FedEx approximately $175 million — money spent on leasing third-party aircraft in the middle of the peak shipping season.
The MD-11 in FedEx's signature purple-and-orange livery has been an iconic symbol of global express delivery for several decades now. And by all indications, the company intends to keep these aircraft in its fleet for several more years to come.
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