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Unverified information:
NTSB Report
The UPS A300 that crashed in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday flew
itself into the ground, according to the NTSB preliminary analysis of
the flight data recorder information. At a news conference on Saturday
NTSB spokesman Robert Sumwalt said the aircraft was flying on its
autopilot until "moments" before it crashed less than a mile short of
the runway at the airport about 4:45 a.m. "The autopilot was engaged until the last second of recorded data,"
saidSumwalt. The autothrottle was also engaged.
A sink rate warning was sounded in the cockpit seven seconds before
impact but Sumwalt did not outline the reaction of the crew to that
warning. He said the investigators will look at UPS's instrument
approach procedures, noting that it's common for crews to rely on the
electronicsto fly instrument approaches. The rest of the airplane was
operating normally, he said. Authorities have now identified the
pilots killed in the crash as Cera Beal Jr., 58, of Matthew, N.C., and Shanda Fanning,37, of Lynchburg, Tenn.
The pairing started their work day in Rockford, Ill., the previous day
and flew to Peoria and Louisville, where they accepted keys to crew
rest facilities. They left from there for the flight to Birmingham.
NTSB Report
The UPS A300 that crashed in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday flew
itself into the ground, according to the NTSB preliminary analysis of
the flight data recorder information. At a news conference on Saturday
NTSB spokesman Robert Sumwalt said the aircraft was flying on its
autopilot until "moments" before it crashed less than a mile short of
the runway at the airport about 4:45 a.m. "The autopilot was engaged until the last second of recorded data,"
saidSumwalt. The autothrottle was also engaged.
A sink rate warning was sounded in the cockpit seven seconds before
impact but Sumwalt did not outline the reaction of the crew to that
warning. He said the investigators will look at UPS's instrument
approach procedures, noting that it's common for crews to rely on the
electronicsto fly instrument approaches. The rest of the airplane was
operating normally, he said. Authorities have now identified the
pilots killed in the crash as Cera Beal Jr., 58, of Matthew, N.C., and Shanda Fanning,37, of Lynchburg, Tenn.
The pairing started their work day in Rockford, Ill., the previous day
and flew to Peoria and Louisville, where they accepted keys to crew
rest facilities. They left from there for the flight to Birmingham.
