While UPS said the status of its crew remained unconfirmed, Birmingham Airport Authority Chairwoman Gaynell Hendricks and the city's mayor confirmed the pilot and co-pilot died in the crash. Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo flight died Wednesday, August 14, when their Airbus A300 crashed on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama. Hide Caption 3 of 5 Photos: Photos: UPS cargo plane crash UPS cargo plane crash – Fire crews investigate where a UPS cargo plane lies on a hill about a half-mile from the runway. The crew spoke to neighbors and they say the heard a large boom and then several other explosions. The plane was one of two flights UPS sends to Birmingham each day, company spokesman Mike Mangeot told CNN affiliate WBRC 
 
 "This incident is very unfortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are with those involved," UPS Airlines President Mitch Nichols said in a statement. UPS has 53 of the planes, according to Airbus.
– The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo plane are dead after the plane crashed near the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport this morning, the mayor's office says. The Airbus A300 went down before dawn in calm weather as it approached the airport, report AP and CNN. The pilot and co-pilot were the only people aboard, says a UPS spokesperson. It went down in a field owned by the airport, reports WVTM, about a half-mile away from one of the runways. The plane had taken off from Louisville, Ky.