Three-Year Old Airplane Attempted Emergency Landing Before Impact

ANN is monitoring media reports in the aftermath of a tragic UPS 747 Freighter crash in which two crewmembers lost their lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. While the accident investigation is barely underway, a number of industry and media reports indicate that the crew was struggling with extensive visual impairments caused by thick smoke in the cockpit prior to the aircraft's impact off airport after at least one attempt to execute an emergency landing after its departure.

According to the NTSB, "At about 8:00 pm local time (1600 UTC), United Parcel Service (UPS) Flight 6, a Boeing 747-400F (N571UP), crashed while attempting to land at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The flight had reportedly departed from Dubai approximately 45-minutes earlier enroute to Cologne, Germany, but the flight crew declared an emergency and requested an immediate return to DXB. Preliminary information indicates that the airplane impacted inside an Emirati air base near a busy highway intersection, approximately 9 miles from Dubai's international airport. The two flight crew members were fatally injured, and it is unknown at this time whether any ground fatalities resulted. The airplane was being operated as a scheduled cargo flight from Dubai, UAE to Cologne, Germany."

UPS has disclosed that, "At the request of the families, UPS can now confirm that two of our crewmembers, Captain Doug Lampe of Louisville, Kentucky, and First Officer Matthew Bell of Sanford, Florida, lost their lives in the crash of Flight 6 yesterday, Sept. 3, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The two pilots were flying a 747-400 en route to Cologne, Germany, when it crashed near Dubai International Airport shortly after takeoff."

"This is a terrible tragedy, and all of us at UPS extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of both of these crewmembers," said UPS CEO Scott Davis. "Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with them during this difficult time."

Captain Lampe, 48, had been with UPS since 1995. First Officer Bell, 38, has been with UPS since 2006. Both crewmembers flew out of UPS's Anchorage, Alaska domicile, or pilot base.

The downed aircraft was a relatively new bird... "The aircraft, tail number N571UP, was just three years old, entering UPS service off the Boeing production line in September 2007. The airframe had flown 9977 hours, completing 1764 takeoffs and landings. It was up to date on all maintenance, having just completed a major inspection in June 2010."

UPS reports that it owns 12 747-400s, eight of which are new, and four of which have been purchased from other carriers and adapted for UPS use. The aircraft, which has a payload capacity of nearly 258,600 pounds, is used on long-range international routes, such as the regular Dubai-Cologne routing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched an aviation investigation team to assist the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates in the crash investigation. The GCAA will take the lead on the investigation and release all information on the progress of the investigation.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman has designated senior air safety investigator Bill English as the U.S. accredited representative. His team will include NTSB specialists in the areas of human performance, fire, operations and systems. The team will also include technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, UPS, GE and the Independent Pilots Association.

A UPS team has arrived in Dubai, and will cooperate with authorities in the investigation. "We established an internal command center within minutes of learning of this tragedy. It will be staffed around the clock with experts from every part of our operation," said UPS Airlines President Bob Lekites. "Safe, secure operations are our top priorities for our employees, our customers, and our public stakeholders."

FMI: www.ups.com, www.ntsb.gov