Cargo plane crashes in US state of Alabama

WASHINGTON, District of Columbia - Agence France-Presse

A UPS cargo plane lies on a hill at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport after crashing on approach, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, in Birmingham, Ala. Toni Herrera-Bast, a spokeswoman for Birmingham's airport authority, says there are no homes in the immediate area of the crash. AP Photo/Butch Dill

A cargo plane crashed Wednesday in a grassy area outside an airport in the US state of Alabama, killing the two-member cockpit crew, a US official and the mayor said.

The Airbus A300 plane belonging to the freight handling company UPS was traveling from Louisville in Kentucky and crashed while approaching Birmingham airport, about half a mile north of the runway, said Kathleen Bergen, an official with the Federal Aviation Administration.
 
She said she had no information on injuries. But Birmingham mayor William Bell said the pilot and co-pilot died in the pre-dawn crash, the news web site al.com said.
 
No one was injured on the ground, Bell was quoted as saying. A church and several homes lie 500 yards from the crash site, al.com said.
 
It quoted one Eddie Smith, who lives near the airport, as saying he heard a loud explosion before dawn.

"It shook my house so hard I jumped up," Smith said. Later, another loud boom rang out, he said.
 
Video on the website showed flames at the crash site in a green grassy area and columns of gray smoke rising.

Many fire trucks were on the scene. UPS issued a brief statement saying it would provide details as they become available, but gave no word on how many people were on the plane.

"As we work through this difficult situation, we ask for your patience, and that you keep those involved in your thoughts and prayers," the UPS statement said.