A FedEx Express MD-11 trijet has returned to the skies for the first time since the type’s crash in November 2025, which grounded the global MD-11 fleet. The test flight took place on Saturday evening from Memphis and lasted over an hour, representing the MD-11’s first flight in six months.

While the flight operated last evening was a test flight, the aircraft’s first revenue flight is not expected to be until later this month. Although UPS Airlines has already confirmed it is retiring its MD-11 fleet, FedEx plans to re-enter the type to service. The cargo airline is in the process of implementing a design fix by Boeing across its 29-strong fleet, which is currently scattered across multiple airports.

Flying Again After Six Months

Credit: FlightRadar24

The trijet’s return to the skies has marked another milestone, with data showing that a FedEx MD-11 performed a test flight last evening. This flight marked the first flight of the type since the UPS crash in November 2025 — in the meantime, Boeing has developed a fix to reinforce the hinge on the engine bearing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft.

Data from FlightRadar24 shows that N621FE took off from Memphis International Airport (MEM) at 5:39 PM (local time) and returned to the airport at 6:53 PM, logging a flight time of over 70 minutes. During the flight, data shows that the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 29,000 feet while flying east before descending to lower altitudes and performing two circuits around Huntsville Airport (HSV).

While further testing will be required in the coming weeks, this marks a major step toward the type’s return. FedEx is aiming to resume MD-11 operations sometime in late May, while fellow cargo operator UPS has already announced the type’s retirement from its fleet. Therefore, it is highly unlikely a UPS Airlines livery MD-11 will perform a revenue flight again.

Boeing’s Hardware Fix For The MD-11

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This first test flight was possible because of the replacement hardware developed by Boeing. The investigation of the UPS crash revealed that there were specific points within the left engine pylon under significant stress. While this was a failure that Boeing and the operators of the MD-11 knew since 2011, at the time, it was considered not to be a risk to safety.

Additionally, apart from the new hardware, Boeing has also developed a maintenance and inspection plan for these aircraft, which will eventually return to service once the appropriate component replacements and modifications have been carried out. However, in the coming weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will review the hardware and the plan formed by Boeing, before it can be signed off to be implemented on the rest of the MD-11 fleet that plans to return to service.

FedEx has already been proactively inspecting its MD-11 fleet and is reportedly prepared to launch the maintenance and modification work as soon as the FAA issues the green light on the proposed solution, as the operator wishes to return these jets to revenue service as soon as possible. However, FedEx plans to put each airframe through flight tests before they return to revenue service.

29 Airframes Stuck Around The World

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FedEx has 29 MD-11 airframes within its fleet, with an average age of 32 years. However, because of the sudden grounding of the type, these aircraft have been stuck at various airports around the world since last November. They have remained stuck as the FAA refused the issuance of ferry permits for these aircraft to their respective bases.

As FreightWaves reports, this has resulted in FedEx’s MD-11 airframes being stranded across 16 airports around the world, some as far away as Singapore and Tokyo. FedEx aims to deploy technicians to these airports to retrieve the engine pylons to the operator’s bases in Memphis and Indianapolis, where the required modifications will be performed.