UPS Cargo Jet Crashes In Alabama, Both Pilots Killed

A UPS cargo jet crashed in Alabama on Wednesday killing the jets pilot and co-pilot.

As firefighters arrived on the scene, all that was discovered were boxes and charred debris that scattered across a field near the Birmingham, Alabama airport.

The blaze was put on in the late morning hours after hours of burning.

A female resident who was in bed before the crash told local news stations that she heard what sounded like engines sputtering as the UPS cargo jet flew over her hour.

Resident Jerome Sanders tells Yahoo News that the cargo jet “was on fire before it hit.” Sanders says he heard the plane and saw flames seconds before it crashed.

Planes continues to fly out of the airport despite the nearby crash. The UPS cargo jet toppled a utility pole and destroyed a tree.

According to UPS, the crashed cargo jet was carrying a variety of cargo.

Local affiliate WSBTV says the crash occurred in a grassy field where a neighborhood stood just several years ago. Airport officials began buying up old houses in the area and destroying them to prepare for the creation of a new runway.

While the airport and UPS did not immediately release the names of the pilot a relative for Shanda Fanning, a woman in her mid-30s from Lynchburg, Tennessee said she was piloting the plane.

In its own release Airbus said the jet, an Airbus A300 was built in 2003 and has logged approximately 11,000 flight hours.

The last tragedy at UPS occurred nearly three years ago in the United Arab Emirates. Both pilots were killed during that tragedy as well.

As we reported earlier 140 homes lost power during the most recent UPS cargo plane crash.