UPS cargo plane crashes on approach to Birmingham; crew dead

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo flight died Wednesday when the Airbus A300 they were flying crashed on approach to the Birmingham, Alabama, airport, Mayor William Bell said.

The plane went down around 4:45 a.m. (5:45 a.m. ET), according to airport officials. It crashed on a street that runs parallel to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Bell said.

No buildings were hit and no one on the ground was injured, he said.

What caused the plane to crash was unclear. The weather was calm at the time of the crash, Bell said.

The aircraft was to land at the Birmingham airport after flying from Louisville, Kentucky, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

The National Transportation Safety Board will send a quick-response "go team" of investigators to the site, the agency said.

Only UPS and FedEx fly the A300 in the United States, according to its manufacturer, Airbus, and the plane is now used only for cargo flights. UPS has 53 of the planes, according to Airbus.

Wednesday's crash is the second involving an A300 in the United States. In 2001, an American Airlines A300 crashed in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, in New York City, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

From CNN