The tragic crash yesterday of UPS Airlines Flight 2976 has left nine people dead with at least another 11 seriously injured. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 lost its No. 1 engine (left side) during takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and crashed just south of the airfield at 17:13 EST.

For many, the accident appears eerily similar to the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 in 1979. Operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 , the forerunner to the MD-11, that aircraft also experienced a full detachment of its No. 1 engine while taking off from Chicago O'Hare International Airport , crashing just seconds after taking off. While it is too soon to draw conclusions about the UPS accident, it is fair to ask: Can an aircraft survive a complete engine separat

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