Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
UPS MD-11F crash, theft of trade secrets lawsuit impacts on cargo market
By Scott Hamilton
Nov. 11, 2025, © Leeham News: The Nov. 7 UPS MD-11F crash and a new trade theft secret lawsuit are likely to impact the air freighter new sales and conversion markets.
Boeing MD-11Fs of FedEx and UPS were grounded following the Nov. 7 crash of a UPS MD-11. Credit: NBC News.
Boeing recommended grounding MD-11Fs pending inspections of the engines and pylons, a move mandated within a day by the Federal Aviation Administration. The cause of the crash is unknown. The No. 1 engine separated from the widebody cargo airliner on takeoff from the Louisville (KY) airport. The airplane had passed the V1 commitment speed when a fire broke out, and the engine and pylon separated from the airplane.
The cause of the fire and the sequence of separation remain under investigation. More than a dozen people were killed, including the three pilots on the plane and the rest on the ground, when the plane crashed into an industrial park.
A theft of trade secrets lawsuit was filed on Oct. 20 in the US Federal District Court in Oregon by P2F company Precision Aircraft Solutions LLC against Mammoth Freighters, also a P2F conversion company. Precision converted Boeing 757s from passenger to freighter configuration and now converts Airbus A321ceos. Mammoth converts Boeing 777-200LRs and 777-300ERs.
One of the principals of Precision, William Wagner, left Precision and years later co-founded Mammoth. About 20 employees from Precision went to work for Mammoth and, for a time, Precision and Mammoth cooperated on the latter’s process to achieve a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its conversions, according to the complaint filed in federal court. Precision alleges that its former employees signed Non-Disclosure Agreements that restricted the use of its trade secrets for the benefit of Mammoth.
The unrelated UPS crash and the lawsuit may have ramifications for the respective segments of the air cargo market.
777 P2F market grinds to a halt: lack of feedstock, Boeing, war, money to blame
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By Scott Hamilton
Jan. 27, 2025, (c) Leeham News: Boeing’s inability to deliver 787s on time and continued delays in certification of the 777-9 mean airlines planning to replace aging aircraft or expand must retain older aircraft longer than expected.
Airbus’ inability to deliver the A350 on planned schedules also affects fleet renewal and expansion plans, but to a much lesser extent than caused by Boeing.
IAI’s Big Twin Boeing 777-300ERF. Credit: IAI.
Boeing’s circumstances also mean that feedstock intended for conversions of 777-300ERs from passenger aircraft to freighters upset the business models of the three P2F conversion companies: IAI Bedek, KMC, and Mammoth Freighters.
Finally, certification of IAI’s conversation program is running two years behind schedule, and Boeing’s reluctance to license critical flight control software has also stalled P2F programs.
In addition to the problems outlined above, the inability to convert the big twin 777-300ER to freighters or receive new 777-8Fs and A350Fs in the coming years means that 747-400 freighters, which are gas-guzzlers by today’s standards and expensive to maintain, must remain in service longer than planned.
It’s a bleak picture emerging for the near- to-mid-term freighter market.
P2F conversion constrained by feedstock, certification issues
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By Judson Rollins
July 3, 2023, © Leeham News: As the supply chain chaos of the past two years finally winds down, the air cargo industry is trying to prepare for future growth.
IAI’s first 777 converted freighter, intended for Kalitta Air, has not flown since its initial testing flight on March 24. Source: IAI.
However, in an ironic twist, the industry’s near-to-intermediate term runway is constrained by some forces that propelled its supernormal profitability during the pandemic and recovery.
Thanks to growth in e-commerce, many industry observers revised their long-term growth forecasts upward. Cargo traffic growth estimates vary widely, from Cirium’s conservative 20-year expectation of 3.0% per year to Boeing’s optimistic call for 4.1% annually through 2042.
This year’s demand environment is less rosy as global trade falters, seaport backlogs have mostly cleared, shippers of high-value industrial goods suffer from microchip and other key commodity shortages, and recovering passenger airline service drives a glut of lower-deck “belly” capacity on most trade lanes.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently said it expects air cargo demand to fall by 3.8% and revenues to contract by one-third for the full year. Cargo volumes were already down 5.3% year-over-year through April, said IATA.
Summary
- Express carriers are most exposed to short-term pain, but long-run prospects are brighter.
- Non-express carriers continue to be hard hit by excess capacity.
- Freighter conversion feedstock supply is tight.
- 777 P2F conversion slowed by possible certification issues; Boeing poised to sell more 777Fs?
Mammoth, NIAR settle lawsuit with prejudice
By Scott Hamilton
Oct. 28, 2022, © Leeham News: A settlement has been reached between the Mammoth Freighters and other plaintiffs and NIAR, the aerospace research arm of Wichita State University, it was announced today.
“This agreement now concludes all existing litigation between NIAR and Wagner/Mammoth, without any payment from either party or restrictions on NIAR, its personnel, its customers or partners, or its conversion aircraft program going forward,” NIAR/WSU said in a statement. The court filing dismissing the lawsuit says each side bears its own costs.
Update: Order public: federal court denies Mammoth Freighter request for preliminary injunction in trade secret theft lawsuit
By Scott Hamilton
Update, Oct. 11, 2022, (c) Leeham News: The US District Court of Southern California posted its Oct. 7 order on Oct. 11 denying Mammoth Freighter’s motion for a preliminary injunction against David Dotzenroth, Sequoia Aircraft Conversions and NIAR, the engineering arm of the University of Wichita.
Among the findings:
- As reported below, the court ruled that there is no irreparable harm to Mammoth and that there is no likelihood of succeeding on the merits of the lawsuit.
- The court determined that Mammoth failed to specifically identify alleged trade secrets.
- Mammoth lost on every point alleged in the lawsuit, the court ruled.
A copy of the order is here: 10-6-22 Order Prelim Injunction and here: Oct 7 Order Prelim Injunction et al
What’s next?
Mammoth could move to dismiss the lawsuit. If it doesn’t, the Defendants could move for a Summary Judgment dismissing the lawsuit. Or Mammoth could proceed with the lawsuit despite the court’s conclusions to date.
There is no deadline to pursue any of these options.
In major blow, federal court denies Mammoth Freighter request for preliminary injunction in trade secret theft lawsuit
Oct. 7, 2022, © Leeham News: The US District Court of Southern California denied a request by Mammoth Freighters for a preliminary injunction against David Dotzenroth, Sequoia Aircraft Conversions and others in the long-running lawsuit alleging the defendants with theft of trade secrets and intellectual property.
The order was issued on Sept. 28, but it has not been published yet. LNA learned of the order in a filing yesterday by the defendants seeking publication of the order on the PACER court website.
“The Order was filed under seal as Document 373, but there is no entry on the public docket indicating that it was entered or that Plaintiffs’ motion was denied,” the attorney for Dotzenroth, et al, wrote in a motion seeking publication of the order.
Denial of the motion for a Preliminary Injunction is a major blow to Mammoth. Although the Oct. 6 motion doesn’t contain details of the Sept. 28 order, the Cornell University Law School website states factors a court will consider in a request for an injunction.