UPS Jet Aborts Louisville Landing After Unauthorized Runway Entry by Smaller Plane
A UPS cargo jet aborted its landing this week at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport after a smaller plane entered the runway without authorization. The Federal Aviation Administration said the smaller aircraft, calling itself Skylab 25, turned onto the runway without authorization and air traffic control ordered the UPS 767 to go around. FAA said required separation between UPS Flight 1303 and Skylab 25 was maintained, though audio shows a controller shouting, "What are you doing?" UPS told reporters the go-around was conducted safely with no injuries and no operational impact, and described the maneuver as a standard procedure.
The episode stirred concern because it occurred at the same airport where a UPS MD-11 crashed in November 2025, killing 15 people. The National Transportation Safety Board later found structural cracks in an engine mount and left-engine separation after takeoff in that accident. That history prompted public attention and social media posts that replayed the air-traffic audio and questioned runway procedures at Louisville.
Earlier social posts and video focused on the dramatic audio and immediate safety scare, while later reporting added agency statements and linked the incident to the November crash. CBS shared footage that drew attention to the controller's exclamation, and Fox News published FAA and UPS comments plus the comparison to the NTSB findings from 2025.
đ Key Facts
- A UPS Boeing 767, operating as UPS Flight 1303, aborted its landing at Louisville and executed a go-around after a smaller aircraft, identified as Skylab 25, turned onto the runway without authorization, the FAA and air traffic control said.
- The FAA said air traffic control ordered the go-around and that required separation between UPS Flight 1303 and Skylab 25 was maintained despite the close call.
- Audio transcripts released include the controller shouting for Skylab 25 to stop and asking, "What are you doing?"
- UPS told reporters the go-around was conducted safely, with no injuries, no operational impacts, and that the maneuver was a standard procedure.
- The Fox News report explicitly connected the near miss to a separate November 2025 incident at the same airport: an MD-11 crash that killed 15, citing NTSB findings that structural cracks in an engine mount led to left-engine separation after takeoff.
đ° Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- FAA states the smaller aircraft, Skylab 25, turned onto the Louisville runway without authorization, prompting air traffic control to order the UPS 767 go-around.
- FAA says required separation between the UPS Flight 1303 and Skylab 25 was maintained despite the close call.
- Audio transcript details show the controller shouting for Skylab 25 to stop and asking, "What are you doing?"
- Fox article explicitly connects the go-around to a November 2025 UPS MD-11 crash at Louisville that killed 15, summarizing NTSB findings of structural cracks in the engine mount and left-engine separation after takeoff.
- UPS confirms via spokesperson that the go-around was conducted safely, with no injuries and no operational impact, describing it as a standard procedure.