UPS Plane Crashes, Explodes Near Birmingham

25.27K

Maggie Lange

08/14/13 08:22AM

Filed to: Plane Crashes

A large UPS cargo plane crashed early this morning in a field close to Birmingham, killing its pilot and co-pilot. The Airbus A300 was en route to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport from Louisville, Kentucky, when it crashed around 6 a.m, just half a mile from the runway. The impact reportedly caused two explosions, with debris scattered in a wide range around the site. Local police report that no homes were affected by the crash.

The plane dropped over 9,000 feet in two minutes, just about four minutes before it crashed into the field. The only individuals on the cargo plane were the pilot and co-pilot, according to UPS's company spokesperson. The cause of the incident is still being investigated. There was no unusual weather at the time of the crash.

Another UPS cargo plane crashed in September 2010 just outside of Dubai, killing both pilots. The crash was reportedly caused by an explosion in the cargo; investigators discovered a fire that they say was caused by the nearly 100,000 lithium temperature-sensitive batteries on board.

[images via AP]

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hilikusopus Maggie Lange 08/14/13 08:26AM

Airbus. Again. Goddamn.

8

SuperHybridSystem3 hilikusopus 08/14/13 08:31AM

Well, at this point, it's pretty much them or Boeing. So it's going to be one or the other.

hilikusopus SuperHybridSystem3 08/14/13 08:55AM

I guess for larger commercial transport planes, that's true. But you still have Embraer, Bombardier, MD.

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cookiegugglemanfleck hilikusopus 08/14/13 09:41AM

I seek out Embraers whenever I fly LGA to ORD. They're like flying Mercedes with wide leather seats, tons of leg room, smaller so quick boarding and deplaning.

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hilikusopus cookiegugglemanfleck 08/14/13 09:46AM

Pilots love flying Embraers for the same reasons.

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Spangarang Maggie Lange 08/14/13 09:00AM

So, I'm usually not too shaken up by plane crashes, probably because I don't fly very frequently and I've never been affected by one. But living in Louisville, and not far from UPS World Port at that, these planes fly over my house almost every 15 minutes or so throughout the night.
Seeing this wreckage and knowing that these guys have probably flown right over my head countless times has me feeling for them. Thoughts with their friends and families.

Seymour1 Spangarang 08/14/13 09:38AM

I hear you. I was terrified because I was waiting for a package from UPS. Fortunately, it arrived unharmed this morning. Thank god for miracles.

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OortCloud Spangarang 08/14/13 09:59AM

I sympathize...I used to live in Memphis right beside FedEx.

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Bostonistoodamncold Spangarang 08/14/13 10:08AM

We used to be neighbors.... I lived in PRP. :)

Spangarang Bostonistoodamncold 08/14/13 10:10AM

Highlands now, formerly Old Lou.

raincoaster Maggie Lange 08/14/13 02:57PM

Nine thousand feet in two minutes? That's not a stall, it sounds like a dive under power.

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fiki raincoaster 08/14/13 04:04PM

That's only 51MPH. Assuming it was at the A300's cruising speed of 518MPH, that means it was descending at a -5° pitch, not drastic at all.

raincoaster fiki 08/14/13 04:33PM

Damn, I should never attempt to do math before I've had my coffee. I just know I was in a Cessna once when the engine quit, and it seemed like forever till the engine restarted, so therefore it ... oh, never mind. Moar coffee, barista!

28

cmjm Maggie Lange 08/14/13 08:37AM

You know you work in e-commerce when you read the headline and think, ugh, the customers will be so angry if their packages were on that plane...

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ExtensionOfBob cmjm 08/14/13 09:26AM

Hahaha. As someone who used to work for UPS and someone who 100% relates to this:

My first thought was: Oh no! All of those packages! What are the recipients going to do?!

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yeah, that guy cmjm 08/14/13 09:32AM

"But I paid an extra $3.99 to get those mittens today instead of Thursday. Damn you Amazon!"

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stopcallingmemom cmjm 08/14/13 09:49AM

Is it horrible that I was just thinking the designer sunglasses I just bought for $4.99 with a groupon better not be on that fucking plane?!

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cmjm stopcallingmemom 08/14/13 09:50AM

Well, I was called a psychopath just for posting my reaction, so. Let's see what they call you.