After the fatal crash of a UPS cargo jet in November, the U.S. government grounded all planes of the type, forcing competitor FedEx to mothball aircraft it owned and instead lease others at great expense. The company is pushing for the freighters to be allowed to return to flight. It’s been communicating that well, but it could and should do more.

On Nov. 4, while taking off from Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, headed to Honolulu, UPS Airlines Flight 2976 had its left engine detach. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, crashed into an industrial area. All three crew members and 12 people on the ground died.

A probe found cracks in the area where the left engine attached to the wing. The Federal Aviation Authority ordered all MD-11s grounded. While UPS decided to retire its MD-11 fleet, FedEx — which at the time had the largest MD-11 collection, with 34 planes, per The Wall Street Journal — wanted them to return eventually. This, despite most of the freighters being at least 30 years old. The models are no longer made. A Simple Flying article suggests that strong cargo demand is a big reason FedEx wants to keep using them.

FedEx is hoping to return the cargo jets next month, according to the WSJ. Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, has developed a new bearing for them, according to the WSJ, citing a memo sent to FedEx employees. The Federal Aviation Administration needs to approve the fix.

‘They’re Ready’

The internal memo said FedEx would hold a town hall about the MD-11 on May 6. “They’re ready to go,” FedEx Chief Operating Officer Richard Smith said of the MD-11s during a recent presentation to the New York-based Wings Club, a society of aviation professionals, according to Air Cargo News.

Clearly the issue is important to FedEx. The company has been attempting to communicate that, especially internally. If and when the planes return to use, FedEx would do well to communicate the fact, both to customers and investors. The issue has been a serious crisis for the company. The grounding will end up costing it at least $200 million, according to the WSJ.

It would be good to explain why using the old fleet is important to the company and that the safety issue has been addressed. It could even have an angle in arguing it was good business sense to maintain the fleet.

Photo Credit: Markus Mainka – stock.adobe.com

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