UPS Wrote Off $137 Million to Kill the MD-11. FedEx Just Brought It Back.

UPS just wrote off $137 million to permanently retire an aircraft. FedEx looked at that exact same plane, grounded by the exact same disaster, and brought it right back into the sky. On November 4th, 2025, a UPS MD-11 crashed on takeoff from Louisville, killing the flight crew and several people on the ground. Both UPS and FedEx grounded their MD-11 fleets within days. Then their paths split completely — UPS walked away from the aircraft for good, while FedEx spent months working with Boeing and the FAA to get it flying again. This video breaks down what actually explains that split, why the real answer isn't "safety vs. recklessness," and what it reveals about how both airlines were already planning their fleets years before the crash ever happened. No jargon. No noise. Just aviation made interesting — for anyone curious enough to ask why. Subscribe for weekly deep dives into the business side of the aviation industry. Credits: All footage is used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). Full credit goes to the original creators. Fair Use Disclaimer: This channel uses short excerpts of copyrighted video content under the Fair Use doctrine (Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act) for purposes such as commentary, criticism, and education. The clips are used with original commentary and do not substitute the original works. All rights remain with the respective copyright holders.