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UPS Airbus down in Birmingham

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Loc 18 bhm

According to the NTSB, data on the CVR confirms the crew had briefed and was flying the LOC 18 to BHM.

Has anyone flown that approach / reviewed the plate? The minimums area on the plate suggests the approach is NA at night. (?)

There is a hill out there just to the right of CL (around 850-900 feet?) which may be the reason that straight in mins are NA at night on that approach.

The RNAV GPS 18 approach, however, does not list this restriction, and allows mins of 1200 MSL / 556 AGL, well below the height of that hill just to right of CL.

May God bless the loved ones of these two professional pilots and may he rest their souls. Thoughts and prayers to all involved and all those who feel this terrible loss.
 
According to the NTSB, data on the CVR confirms the crew had briefed and was flying the LOC 18 to BHM.

Has anyone flown that approach / reviewed the plate? The minimums area on the plate suggests the approach is NA at night. (?)

There is a hill out there just to the right of CL (around 850-900 feet?) which may be the reason that straight in mins are NA at night on that approach.

The RNAV GPS 18 approach, however, does not list this restriction, and allows mins of 1200 MSL / 556 AGL, well below the height of that hill just to right of CL.

May God bless the loved ones of these two professional pilots and may he rest their souls. Thoughts and prayers to all involved and all those who feel this terrible loss.

The note says that the LOC is NA if the VGSI is OTS.
 
"Beal, who was hired by UPS in October 1990, had about 8,600 hours of flying time, including 6,400 hours with UPS and more than 3,200 flying the Airbus A300."

"Fanning was hired by UPS in November 2006 and had about 6,500 hours of flying time, 1,250 of those with UPS and 400 hours flying the Airbus A300."


So for Beal that's 23 years with the company 6400 hours. 6400/23=278.2hrs per year.

Fanning, has 7 years and 1250 hrs. 1250/7=178.5hrs per year.

Am I missing something here besides the fact I wish I had gotten hired there. I fly those yearly totals every three months. Wow.
 
"Beal, who was hired by UPS in October 1990, had about 8,600 hours of flying time, including 6,400 hours with UPS and more than 3,200 flying the Airbus A300."

"Fanning was hired by UPS in November 2006 and had about 6,500 hours of flying time, 1,250 of those with UPS and 400 hours flying the Airbus A300."


So for Beal that's 23 years with the company 6400 hours. 6400/23=278.2hrs per year.

Fanning, has 7 years and 1250 hrs. 1250/7=178.5hrs per year.

Am I missing something here besides the fact I wish I had gotten hired there. I fly those yearly totals every three months. Wow.

No your not missing anything. My UPS friends laugh when they hear how much I fly a month.
 
I heard Beals last logbook entry was in 1990 the day before he got hired at ups, that was 8600 hrs, the media is just stupid
 
I flew into BHM the night after the crash and out the next morning. Took off on runway 6 so I had a good view of the site during climb out.

What confuses me is this. News reports say the bodies of the crew were found 100 yards from the wreckage. Both what I personally saw and the crash seen photos I have viewed on the NTSB site show that the front third of the aircraft remained intact. I don't see how the bodies could have gotten out of the aircraft during the crash.
 
They were in the cockpit and weren't removed for hours after the crash is all I've read. The front section was separated from the rest of the fuselage so maybe that's what the article you read meant?
 
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I flew into BHM the night after the crash and out the next morning. Took off on runway 6 so I had a good view of the site during climb out.

What confuses me is this. News reports say the bodies of the crew were found 100 yards from the wreckage. Both what I personally saw and the crash seen photos I have viewed on the NTSB site show that the front third of the aircraft remained intact. I don't see how the bodies could have gotten out of the aircraft during the crash.


I heard the same thing as well in which the news media was brief through the fire department. The bottom of the aircraft including the cockpit was chewed up in which I can understand the contents of the aircraft being deposited all along it's skid marks. Not the first time this has happen. A high descent rate is as deadly as hitting a mountain! You're not walking away in any case.
 
I found out a little more info.

They were assigned the LOC 18. WX was 1100 broken to overcast. Visibility was 10 miles. Aircraft hit either a hill or trees on the hill 1.5 miles from either the end of the runway or the Airport reference point (I wasn't clear on that).

Wreckage came to rest 1/2 mile from the end of the runway.

Aircraft debris was located roughly 1/2 from the crash site in a neighborhood.

Treetops, a power line and pole were impacted about 6000 feet from the end of the runway.

Last contact with the crew 11 mile from the airport. Communication was routine.

At the time of the accident, runway 6/24 was closed for construction and re-opened 0455 local time. Accident occurred at 0445 local time.

10 minutes. What a tragedy.
 
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