UPS A300 reported down

[maple-syrup 40]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/two-dead-crash-ups-cargo-jet-birmingham-ala-122640486.html

[mosteen 111]

RIP

[KSATRoadWarrior 91]

Another sad tragedy, too many in the last month, RIP and prayers to the family and friends.

[Guest]

This is indeed very sad. I assume the two killed where the pilots. Do those cargo planes have any other crew onboard? It just seem odd to me that the pilots where killed based on the photo. The flight deck area seems to be completely intact. Anyway its very sad, I wish the outcome had been different.

[Spartan0536 49]

Something is awry here.....

[FLEX1978 373]

This is indeed very sad. I assume the two killed where the pilots. Do those cargo planes have any other crew onboard? It just seem odd to me that the pilots where killed based on the photo. The flight deck area seems to be completely intact. Anyway its very sad, I wish the outcome had been different.

Look at the crumpling/wrinkling of the airframe behind the flight deck, also look at the way the nose dug into the grass. The deceleration would have been brutal.

 

Edit - just looked at the link above, the photo is not clear, you can find close up pictures of the front section of the aircraft if you search online. Very sad

[michelair 14]

Sad event in UPS History, being a UPS retiree after 20 plus years. I have several hundred hours in the jump seat of UPS aircraft. It's hard for me to believe that these types of crashes still occur with modern technology, however even with all the technology that exists today, we still depend on our pilots to be 100% all the time.

 

Just a thought for my follow avsim followers, next time you see your UPS driver or pilot on the ramp or at your door step delivering your next computer part. Take the time and say thanks.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with my UPS family....

[WR269 367]

Some very strange things...the aeroplane was very low on final approach, much lower than it should have been, after making a very steep descent previously. Then it hit 2 large pine trees on a private property, splintering the trees and leaving behind several bits of empannage.

 

The aeroplane then crashed on a hill rise, bounced up and hit the other side.

[machine2035 176]

 

This is indeed very sad. I assume the two killed where the pilots. Do those cargo planes have any other crew onboard? It just seem odd to me that the pilots where killed based on the photo. The flight deck area seems to be completely intact. Anyway its very sad, I wish the outcome had been different.

 

The 'g' forces alone which can be experienced during disasters like this can alone cause internal organ damage and then cause death.

 

Usually there are no other crew on these cargo flights, although there is the possibility for airline employees to jumpseat on UPS flights through agreements with the ALPA etc.

[RWFeldman 159]

150 tons going from 140knts to zero in 600 ft.. gforce

[machine2035 176]

BTW, any A300 guru's know if the FMS provides vertical guidance to the autopilot when shooting an NPA? (such as the LOC approach to 18 which seems to be the general concensus of what they were on).

[Guest]

150 tons going from 140knts to zero in 600 ft.. gforce

Well I am not sure this discussion is entirely appropriate and I am not a physicist but

140 knots to 0 knots in 600 feet is not like hitting a brick wall! I am not sure the mass of the entire aircraft has much to do with it. I had the landing gear collapse on a landing in a glider a few weeks a go on a grass strip. My approach speed was about 65knots. I knew I had a problem and was trying something that involved flying the stick with my left hand which made for a sloppy flare. The gear collapsed on hard touch down despite my efforts and the glider came to a complete stop almost instantly. Maybe it went 10 or 20 feet. Let say 20 feet and lets say the speed at impact was 50knots so my speed dropped by 2.5 knots per foot. In the above guestimation they lost 0.25knots per foot. if that is right my deceleration was 10 times faster than theirs and there was not a scratch on me and I didn't feel a thing. Just sayin' in the picture on Yahoo news ( I didn't see the close up) the whole forward section of the aircraft seems relatively in tact. If it went straight into the ground or collide with a building it would have been completely disintegrated. But it must have impacted the ground at a fairly shallow angle. It looks to me very survivable for the flight deck crew strapped into their seats. Anyway it is very sad they didn't survive and it seem to me that they where very unlucky not too. May they rest in peace.

[fppilot 4,391]

Will come out in the reports.  Other pure speculation: fire blocked exit?  Smoke inhalation?  Not wearing restraints?  Nose gear at impact penetrated the cockpit? 

 

The distance after contacting the ground may not be indicative of all the injurious forces the pilots experienced. 

[michelair 14]

Actually pre 911.. UPS employees jump seated all the time, that's where I got the bug in the late 80's. I can remember my first time in the jump seat of a new 757 flying from Billings Montana to Denver, Colorado. After that I was hooked., however post 911 there is a lot of red tape to get proper authorization even if one is a non-pilot employee.

 

Again,...sad day for us all.

[signmanbob 592]

 It looks to me very survivable for the flight deck crew strapped into their seats. Anyway it is very sad they didn't survive and it seem to me that they where very unlucky not too. May they rest in peace.

 

Both crew members bodies were found on the ground, about 100 yards from the cockpit section.

One of the crew, I'm not sure if the captain or FO, was a woman. I believe from Lynchburg, TN.

Just a couple of things that I've heard recently.