One Day After the UPS Crash

BIRMINGHAM AL- Perched on a rise above the runways at the Birmingham International Airport sits a large portion of the forward fuselage of the broken UPS Airbus A-300. It is an eerie sight, a humbling reminder of our vulnerabilities and very rare occurrence in Birmingham and the U.S. The visual is a sad tribute to the two pilots who were lost on impact. As of Thursday morning, the identities of the pilots have been confirmed as Shanda Fanning, of Lynchburg, Tenn., and Cerea Beal Jr., of Charlotte, N.C.


An early Wednesday morning arrival of Flight 1354- UPS freighter from Louisville, Kentucky was cut sort, as it crashed and burned into a small rise between runway 18 and 24 never reaching the airport. A series of fiery explosions followed, leaving the neighboring homeowners shocked and fearful such a large plane could barely miss their homes. A miss by "150 feet" reported one close resident. Treetops and power lines came down near them. Fire Fighters, rescue and police secured the scene.

Members of the "Go team" of the NTSB were on the scene by Wednesday afternoon and by noon today over 25 NTSB Investigators were on site. Black boxes were discovered, although damaged, and sent to Washington DC for data retrieval.  Officials estimate a possible seven days to remove all wreckage and packages scattered long distances including rooftops. -B Meyer, FMI: http://www.ntsb.gov/