Pilots Fatally Injured When A300 Went Down On Approach To Birmingham

ANN Realtime Update 1610 EDT

The pilots flying the UPS A300 which went down before dawn Wednesday morning on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama were fatally injured, according to multiple news sources including Fox News.

A witness who lives directly across from the runway told Fox News that the airplane was "on fire before it hit."

Original Story:

A UPS A300 cargo plane has gone down on approach to Birmingham, AL, and the two pilots on board are presumed to have been fatally injured, though that has not been officially confirmed.

The accident occurred about 0455 local time. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergan told the Associated Press that the flight was UPS Flight 1354 which had originated in Louisville, KY, and that the two pilots were thought to be the only people on board the aircraft.

The plane went down short of Birmingham Airport (KBHM). Authorities said the plane came down in a field away from populated areas, skidded across a highway, and exploded. Photographs from the scene show the plane engulfed in flames, and later the wreckage strewn across the field.

The NTSB has dispatched a "go team" to the site. Senior Aviation Investigator Dan Bower will serve as investigator-in-charge. NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt is accompanying the team and will serve as the principal spokesman during the on-scene phase of the investigation.

Further information will be posted as it is made available.

(image provided by the NTSB)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov