Leeham News and Analysis
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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.