UPS A300 Crashes in Birmingham, Alabama. Both pilots killed.

On the 14th of August a UPS Airbus A300-600F was on approach to runway 18 at Birmingham airport in Alabama, USA. The aircraft apparently undershot the landing, meaning it impacted the ground early. This would have caused huge damage, but the post-impact fire would have completely destroyed the aircraft. From pictures it is clear that the aircraft has broken into several pieces. Being a domestic freighter flight, only two pilots were aboard, however they were both killed from the impact. The incident occurred early in the morning during darkness. The aircraft burst into flames after impact, but the fire was brought under control fairly soon. The wreckage is heavily damaged, and the pilots unfortunately would have had no chance of survival.
The A300 is an older aircraft that most airlines no longer use. There has been many, many accidents involving A300s over the years, the most recent before this being an Afriqiyah Airways and Libyab Arab Airlines destroyed in fighting in Tripoli in August 2011. These were passenger aircraft. In 2010 an Aerounion A300, also a freighter, was destroyed on landing in a similar incident in Mexico.
This is an aircraft that is being phased out and they are seeing their last flights around the world as newer, safer aircraft take to the skies.

This incident is the latest of the several air incidents that have occurred during this year, including the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-200 that crashed on landing in San Francisco in July.

(Photo: AFP) 

(Photo: AFP) 

(Photo: Reuters)