UPS’s 32-Year-Old MD-11F Freighter Dismantled in Atlanta

Dismantling of UPS’s retired McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighter, registered N273UP, began on November 3, 2026, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The aircraft had been parked at the airport for nearly a year when Delta Material Services acquired it for spare parts in October.

Originally delivered to Japan Airlines as a passenger aircraft in 1994, the MD-11 was converted into a freighter in 2003 and entered service with UPS.

UPS temporarily grounded its MD-11 fleet after an MD-11F operating Flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville on November 4, 2025. The company retired its entire MD-11 fleet in the fourth quarter of 2025.