UPS was on autopilot until seconds before it crashed in Alabama killing two pilots - Daily Mail
The UPS cargo jet that crashed in Alabama this week, killing its two crew members, was flying on autopilot until seconds before impact, even after an alert that it was descending too quickly, authorities said on Saturday
'The autopilot was engaged until the last second of recorded data,' said Robert Sumwalt, a senior official with the National Transportation Safety Board.
With a large hill and trees at one end, the runway lacks the electronics for a full instrument landing. That forces pilots to make key judgments about altitude while aiming a descending aircraft at a runway that's 5,000 feet shorter than the airport's main runway, which was closed for maintenance work at the time of the crash.
The UPS cargo jet that crashed in Alabama this week, killing its two crew members, was flying on autopilot until seconds before impact, even after an alert that it was descending too quickly, authorities said on Saturday
'The autopilot was engaged until the last second of recorded data,' said Robert Sumwalt, a senior official with the National Transportation Safety Board.
With a large hill and trees at one end, the runway lacks the electronics for a full instrument landing. That forces pilots to make key judgments about altitude while aiming a descending aircraft at a runway that's 5,000 feet shorter than the airport's main runway, which was closed for maintenance work at the time of the crash.
