Pilot, co-pilot killed in Alabama UPS cargo plane crash

A large UPS cargo plane crashed early Wednesday morning near an airport in Birmingham, Ala., killing the pilot and co-pilot, according to Birmingham Mayor William Bell.

United Parcel Service Inc flight 1354, en route from Louisville, Kentucky, to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, crashed on approach about 6 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane was identified as an Airbus A300.

A fire in a sparsely populated area outside the airport's perimeter fence that broke out after the crash was "under control," Bell said, adding that there were no other casualties in the incident.

Toni Bast, a spokeswoman for Birmingham's airport authority, told The Associated Press the crash had not affected airport operations.

The National Transportation Safety Board said that it would be launching a full investigation of the crash.

Conditions in the area were rainy with low clouds Wednesday morning. Smoke was still rising from the scene almost three hours after the crash. A piece of the plane's fuselage lay near some blackened ground.

UPS, the world's largest package-delivery company, said it was "still determining the details of the incident."

In September 2010, a UPS cargo plane crashed in the United Arab Emirates, just outside Dubai. Both pilots were killed. Authorities blamed that crash on its load of between 80,000 to 90,000 lithium batteries, which are sensitive to temperature. Investigators found that a fire on board likely began in that cargo.

Wednesday's crash was also the latest in a series of U.S. air accidents in recent months.

In July, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed while landing in San Francisco, killing three people and injuring more than 180.

Also last month, the front landing gear of a Southwest Airlines Co Boeing 737 jet collapsed on touchdown at New York City's LaGuardia Airport, injuring eight.

Al Jazeera and wire services