UPS and FedEx announced they grounded all of their MD-11 cargo planes after a deadly crash in Kentucky.

UPS said in a Nov. 7 statement it would temporarily ground the MD-11 fleet effective immediately. The decision comes after the Nov. 4 crash of a UPS cargo flight in Louisville, where at least 14 people died, including three crew members, and others are still missing as of Nov. 7. It’s the deadliest crash in UPS Airlines history.

“Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety, we have made the decision to temporarily ground our MD-11 fleet,” the company said. The decision affects about 9% of the UPS Airlines fleet, the company said.

In a Nov. 8 email, a FedEx statement said the company also grounded its MD-11 fleet, citing it had done so out of an abundance of caution. FedEx said it operates around 28 MD-11s, representing around 4% of the company's approximately 700-aircraft fleet.

UPS and FedEx said Boeing, the airline manufacturer, recommended grounding all MD-11s.

In a Nov. 7 statement, Boeing said it “recommended to the three operators of MD-11 that they suspend flight operations while additional engineering analysis is performed.”

Boeing’s statement added the decision was made was out of an abundance of caution as it continues coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration.

In addition to UPS and FedEx, the third operator was Western Global Airlines, Boeing spokesperson Andy Lee said in an email. In total, about 70 MD-11 aircraft are in operation across the three companies.

Western Global didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's email request.

Earlier this week, UPS Flight 2976 had taken off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport at around 5:15 p.m. en route to Honolulu. Then, it crashed and erupted into a deadly ball of fire in an industrial part of Louisville.

Louisville is UPS’ largest shipping and logistics facility globally, and it’s the headquarters for UPS Airlines, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

UPS said contingency plans are in place to continue delivering to customers.

On Nov 7, Todd Inman, of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the area of the crash site is still an “active debris field,” where small fires and smoke have still smoldered.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Doyle Rice, of USA TODAY; Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier-Journal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UPS, FedEx ground MD-11 cargo fleets as investigation continues into deadly Kentucky crash

Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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