UPS Airlines Flight 1354

UPS Airlines Flight 1354

N155UP's forward section shortly after the crash and fire
Accident summary
Date August 14, 2013
Summary Controlled flight into terrain
Site North of Birmingham's runway 18
33°35′2.061″N 86°44′51.9822″W / 33.58390583°N 86.747772833°W / 33.58390583; -86.747772833Coordinates: 33°35′2.061″N 86°44′51.9822″W / 33.58390583°N 86.747772833°W / 33.58390583; -86.747772833
Passengers 0
Crew 2
Fatalities 2 (all)
Survivors 0
Aircraft type Airbus A300F4-622R
Operator UPS Airlines
Registration N155UP
Flight origin Louisville International Airport
Destination Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport

UPS Airlines Flight 1354 was a scheduled cargo flight from Louisville International Airport to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport. On August 14, 2013, the aircraft flying this route, a UPS Airlines Airbus A300-600F, crashed and burst into flames short of the runway on approach to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport in the US state of Alabama.[1][2] Both pilots were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. They were the only people aboard the aircraft.[3]

Aircraft

A UPS Airlines Airbus A300-600, similar to N155UP

The aircraft involved in the accident was an Airbus A300F4-622R, registered as N155UP. It was built in 2003; UPS took delivery of it in February 2004.[4] It was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. At the time of the accident, it had accumulated approximately 11,000 flight hours in 6,800 flight cycles (takeoff-and-landing sets).[5]

Crash

N155UP's crash site, tail and middle sections

The aircraft crashed at about 04:47 local time (CDT, 09:47 UTC) on approach to runway 18 at Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport. It clipped trees and struck ground three times uphill. The fuselage broke apart, with the nose coming to rest about 200 yards (180 m) away from the initial point of impact, and the rest of it about 80 yards (70 m) further down towards the runway and about 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) from its edge and catching fire.[6][2]

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation and sent a 26-member "go team" to the crash site to "collect perishable evidence". At a press conference held later on the same day, the NTSB said they had been unable to recover the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder as the tail section (where the recorders are housed) was still on fire.[6] Both recorders were recovered on the following day, and were sent for analysis.[7]

On August 16, 2013, at their third media briefing, the NTSB reported that the crew received two GPWS alerts "sink rate!" (that they were descending too quickly) 16 seconds before the end of the recording. Three seconds later, one of the pilots commented that they had the runway in sight. Nine seconds before the end of the recording, impact sounds were audible. The crew had briefed the approach to runway 18 and were cleared to land by air traffic control two minutes prior to the end of the recording. The captain was the pilot flying, and the autopilot was engaged at the time of the accident.[8][2]

To represent the country of manufacture, the French aviation accident investigation agency BEA, assisted by Airbus technical advisors, participated in the investigation.[9] Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team also assisted the NTSB.[10] The NTSB stated in late August that no mechanical anomalies had been uncovered to that point, but that the complete investigation would take several months.[11]

On February 20, 2014, the NTSB held a public hearing in connection with its investigation. At that hearing, excerpts from the cockpit voice recorder were presented, in which both pilot and co-pilot discussed their lack of sufficient sleep prior to the flight.[12]

In 2014, the Independent Pilots Association filed suit against the FAA to end the cargo airplane exemption from the flight crew minimum rest requirements.[13]

On September 9, 2014 the National Transportation Safety Board announced that it had determined the probable cause of the accident was that the aircrew had continued an unstabilized approach into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport during which they failed to monitor their altitude and thus inadvertently descended below the minimum descent altitude when the runway was not yet in sight resulting in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) approximately 3,300 feet short of the runway threshold. The NTSB also found contributing factors to the accident included: 1) the flight crew’s failure to properly configure and verify the flight management computer for the profile approach; 2) the captain’s failure to communicate his intentions to the first officer once it became apparent the vertical profile was not captured; 3) the flight crew’s expectation that they would break out of the clouds at 1,000 feet above ground level due to incomplete weather information; 4) the first officer’s failure to make the required minimums callouts; 5) the captain’s performance deficiencies likely due to factors including, but not limited to, fatigue, distraction, or confusion, consistent with performance deficiencies exhibited during training, and; 6) the first officer’s fatigue due to acute sleep loss resulting from her ineffective off-duty time management and circadian factor.[1][14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A300F4-622R N155UP Birmingham Airport, AL (BHM)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Hradecky, Simon (August 16, 2013). "Crash: UPS A306 at Birmingham on Aug 14th 2013, touched down outside airport". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  3. ↑ Reeves, Jay (August 14, 2013). "UPS cargo plane crashes in Ala., killing two". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. ↑ Rabinowitz, Jason (August 14, 2013). "UPS Airbus A300 Crashes On Approach To Birmingham Airport". NYCAviation. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "N155UP United Parcel Service (UPS) Airbus A300F4-622R - cn 841". Planespotters.net. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Roberson, Amber (August 14, 2013). "NTSB brings 26-member team to Birmingham to collect "perishable" evidence and information on crash". Alabama's 13. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ Roberson, Amber (August 15, 2013). "NTSB: Black boxes recovered, info tomorrow on whether data can be extracted". Alabama's 13. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  8. ↑ Roberson, Amber (August 16, 2013). "NTSB: Data recovered from black boxes, new details about flight". Alabama's 13. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Flight UP1354 on 14 August 2013 A300-600, registered N155UP". Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile. August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  10. ↑ Boxley, Mark (August 15, 2013). "UPS cargo jet crash probe enters second day". USA Today. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  11. ↑ Howard, Courtney (August 21, 2013). "NTSB: UPS Flight 1354 investigation to span months, no mechanical anomalies with aircraft found so far". Avionics Intelligence. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ Ahlers, Mike (February 20, 2014). "UPS pilots complained of fatigue before fatal crash". CNN. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  13. ↑ "UPS Pilots Fight FAA Regulations After Fatigue Crash". www.aviationtoday.com. Avionics Today. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "NTSB Finds Mismanagement of Approach to Airport and Failure to Go-Around Led to Crash of UPS Flight 1354" (Press release). National Transportation Safety Board. September 9, 2014.
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