Airbus A300 - F4 622R accident near Birmingham, Alabama, August 14, 2013
On August 14, 2013 at about 9:40 am local time, a Airbus A300 - F4 622R, registered N155UP, was destroyed in an accident during approach (IFR final approach) near Birmingham, Alabama (Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Inter airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
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 factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 2013 · about 9:40 am local time
- Place
- Birmingham, Alabama · Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Inter · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Airbus A300 - F4 622R F4 622R · all A300 - F4 622Rs on the register
- Registration
- N155UP · no longer on the register · serial 0841
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-14/02. On August 14, 2013, about 0447 central daylight time (CDT), United Parcel Service (UPS) flight 1354, an Airbus A300-600, N155UP, crashed short of runway 18 during a localizer nonprecision approach to runway 18 at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama. The captain and first officer were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The nonscheduled cargo flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan, and dark night visual flight rules conditions prevailed at the airport; variable instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with a variable ceiling were present north of the airport on the approach course at the time of the accident. The flight originated from Louisville International Airport-Standiford Field (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky, about 0503 eastern daylight time (EDT).
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during approach (IFR final approach) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent/approach/glide path › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring equip/instruments › Flight crew
- factor Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Navigation system › Flt management computing sys › Incorrect use/operation
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of automation › Flight crew
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Lack of communication › Pilot
- factor Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › (general) › Awareness of condition
- factor Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Low ceiling › Accuracy of related info
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Lack of communication › Copilot
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › (general) › (general) › Pilot
- factor Personnel issues › Physical › Alertness/Fatigue › Lack of sleep › Copilot
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Training › (general) › Operator
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation › FAA/Regulator
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Navigation system › Ground proximity system › Related maintenance info
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,406 hours in all; 3,265 in this make and model; 97 in the last 90 days; 41 in the last 30 days; 1,516 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 26, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,253 hours in all; 403 in this make and model; 95 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 0 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 26, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,043 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 14, 2013
- Maximum gross weight: 375,900 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: P & W PW4158 (turbofan); 10,884 hours total
- Engine 2: P & W PW4158 (turbofan); 11,863 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: United Parcel Service CO
The flight
- Departed from: SDF Louisville KY
- Destination: BHM Birmingham AL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 7,099 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; a few clouds at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from BHM, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.