A large cargo plane flying from Louisville,
Kentucky to Birmingham, Alabama has crashed killing both the pilot and co-pilot
on the flight.
The UPS cargo plane is said to be an Airbus
A300 cargo plane and it crashed about 5 am local time on its approach to the
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama.
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| Image: AOL |
The crash occurred just outside the perimeters
of the airport in an area which has been cleared for the expansion of the
airport.
“I can confirm they were killed in the crash,”
Birmingham Mayor William Bell said of the pilot and co-pilot, who were not
identified immediately. He mentioned that no other casualties were recorded.
There were at least two blasts from the crash
after the plane caught fire. “It was quite a large fire and there were two to
three explosions after the plane caught fire, after the crash itself,” April
Odom, Bell’s spokeswoman said.
“This incident is very unfortunate, and our
thoughts and prayers are with those involved,” UPS Airlines president Mitch
Nichols.
“We place the utmost value on the safety of our
employees, our customers and the public.” he said.
The plane involved was reportedly built in 2003
and had been in the air for 11,000 hours over 6,800 flights according to the
manufacturer, Airbus.
This is the second Airbus A300 crash in the U.
S. in 12 years after an A300 having 260 people on board crashed while lifting
off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City in 2001. All people
on board and five on ground died.
This is also coming as the second plane crash
to affect UPS in three years after its Boeing 747 crashed in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates about three years ago.
Condolences to the family of the pilot and
co-pilot affected.
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UPS Cargo Plane crashes, two dead