ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A300F4-622R N155UP Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, AL (BHM)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Wednesday 14 August 2013
Time:04:47
Type:Silhouette image of generic A306 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Airbus A300F4-622R
Operator:United Parcel Service - UPS
Registration: N155UP
MSN: 841
First flight: 2003-11-03 (9 years 10 months)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PW4158
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1 km (0.6 mls) N of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, AL (BHM) (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Cargo
Departure airport:Louisville International Airport, KY (SDF/KSDF), United States of America
Destination airport:Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, AL (BHM/KBHM), United States of America
Flightnumber:1354
Narrative:
UPS Flight 1354, an Airbus A300F4-622R, N155UP, crashed and burst into flames near Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM). Both pilots were killed.
Flight 1354 departed Louisville International Airport, KY (SDF) about 05:04 hours EDT on a regular cargo service to Birmingham (BHM).
The flight was on approach to runway 18 when it struck trees. The airplane contacted terrain and crashed in a field, 1000 m short of the runway.

Probable Cause:

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crew’s continuation of an unstabilized approach and their failure to monitor the aircraft’s altitude during the approach, which led to an inadvertent descent below the minimum approach altitude and subsequently into terrain. Contributing to the accident were
(1) the flight crew’s failure to properly configure and verify the flight management computer for the profile approach;
(2) the captain’s failure to communicate his intentions to the first officer once it became apparent the vertical profile was not captured;
(3) the flight crew’s expectation that they would break out of the clouds at 1,000 feet above ground level due to incomplete weather information;
(4) the first officer’s failure to make the required minimums callouts;
(5) the captain’s performance deficiencies likely due to factors including, but not limited to, fatigue, distraction, or confusion, consistent with performance deficiencies exhibited during training; and
(6) the first officer’s fatigue due to acute sleep loss resulting from her ineffective off-duty time management and circadian factor.

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 6 months
Accident number: NTSB/AAR-14/02
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Insufficient rest / fatigue
Landing after unstabilized approach
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Ground

Sources:
» SKYbrary 

METAR Weather report:
09:53 UTC / 04:53 local time:
KBHM 140953Z 34004KT 10SM FEW011 BKN035 OVC075 23/22 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP141 T02330222


Follow-up / safety actions

NTSB issued 20 Safety Recommendations

Show all...

Photos

photo of Airbus-A300F4-622R-N155UP
accident date: 14-08-2013
type: Airbus A300F4-622R
registration: N155UP
photo of Airbus-A300F4-622R-N155UP
accident date: 14-08-2013
type: Airbus A300F4-622R
registration: N155UP
photo of Airbus-A300F4-622R-N155UP
accident date: 14-08-2013
type: Airbus A300F4-622R
registration: N155UP
photo of Airbus-A300F4-622R-N155UP
accident date: 14-08-2013
type: Airbus A300F4-622R
registration: N155UP
photo of Airbus-A300F4-622R-N155UP
accident date: 14-08-2013
type: Airbus A300F4-622R
registration: N155UP
photo of Airbus-A300F4-622R-N155UP
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Louisville International Airport, KY to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, AL as the crow flies is 517 km (323 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Airbus A300

  • 561 built
  • 34th loss
  • 10th fatal accident
  • 11th worst accident
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