UPS Airlines Flight 6

UPS Airlines Flight 6
N571UP, the aircraft involved, seen on approach in Dubai in November 2008
Accident
Date September 3, 2010
Summary In-flight uncontained cargo fire caused by lithium ion batteries
Site Nad Al Sheba Military camp, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
25°05′53″N 55°21′36″E / 25.098°N 55.360°E / 25.098; 55.360Coordinates: 25°05′53″N 55°21′36″E / 25.098°N 55.360°E / 25.098; 55.360[1]
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 747-44AF/SCD
Operator UPS Airlines
Registration N571UP
Flight origin Dubai International Airport
Destination Cologne Bonn Airport
Crew 2
Fatalities 2 (all)
Survivors 0

UPS Airlines Flight 6 was a cargo flight operated by UPS Airlines. On September 3, 2010, a Boeing 747-400F flying the route between Dubai International Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport developed an in-flight fire, with the fumes and subsequent crash resulting in the death of the two crew members.[2][3] The aircraft had departed Dubai International earlier, but returned after reporting smoke in the cockpit. It was the first fatal air crash for UPS Airlines.[4] The crash caused an examination of safety procedures protecting airliners from cockpit smoke.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 747-400F, registered N571UP and was delivered to UPS Airlines in 2007.[5] It had flown for more than 10,000 hours, and had a major inspection performed in June 2010.[6] Before the crash, it was among the newest (#1,393 of 1,418; the 26th from the last)[7] Boeing 747s built before 747-8 series.

The captain was 48-year-old Douglas Lampe of Louisville, Kentucky, and the first officer was 38-year-old Matthew Bell from Sanford, Florida.[8] Both crew members were based in UPS's Anchorage, Alaska pilot base.[9]

Crash

Flight 6 departed from Dubai International at 14:53 UTC. At 15:15 the EICAS message FIRE MAIN DK FWD appeared on the upper EICAS display, and the crew reported the fire in the cockpit when the aircraft was around 120 nautical miles (138 mi; 222 km) west-northwest of Dubai. An emergency was declared shortly afterwards.[10] The pilots were under the control of Bahrain's air traffic control (ATC), and they could not initially contact Dubai ATC due to the thick smoke in the cockpit obscuring the radio panel.[11] Although they were offered a diversion to Doha, Qatar,[12] Captain Lampe made the decision to return to Dubai.

Lampe elected to disengage the autopilot and fly the plane manually. Upon doing so, he discovered that he had no elevator control. The fire had burnt through the protective fire-resistant liner that covered the cargo hold and destroyed the primary flight control system, crippling the 747. At 15:20, Lampe's oxygen mask failed and he relinquished command of the plane to First Officer Bell. Lampe left his seat to get the Emergency Reserve Oxygen System (EROS) oxygen mask, which was stowed behind his seat, but was incapacitated by the acrid smoke and lost consciousness, collapsing to the cockpit floor. It was believed that the fire had also cut off the oxygen supply to the EROS mask, leaving Lampe with no oxygen left to return to the pilot seat and fly the plane. Bell was instructed to land on the airport's runway 12L.[10] The aircraft was too high on the approach and the gear did not extend. The aircraft passed over the airport before making a tight turn. Bell attempted to turn towards Sharjah International Airport but unknowingly turned in the wrong direction. Radar contact was lost shortly thereafter at 15:42 UTC. The aircraft finally slammed into the ground at a shallow angle and at high speed in an unpopulated area between the Emirates Road and Al Ain Highway, barely missing Dubai Silicon Oasis. The right wing hit the ground first and the burning 747 skidded a few meters, and exploded in a fireball, killing Bell instantly.[13] Other than ATC, many initial reports came from pilots working for Emirates who were living in the community.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it would dispatch an aviation investigator to assist the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in its investigation of the crash.[14] Boeing offered to send a team to the United Arab Emirates to provide technical assistance in the investigation process.[15]

Following the recovery of the cockpit voice recorder, the GCAA issued a preliminary report on September 5, 2010.[13] On September 7, the authorities discovered the flight data recorder. The government of Bahrain decided to conduct its own investigation into the accident.[16] UPS also sent its own investigation team.[9] The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were sent to the United States for analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board on September 10, 2010.[12]

The investigation revived safety concerns about the effects of smoke in the cockpit. The crash also revived concerns over whether smoke hoods should be allowed in the cockpit.[17] Prior to the crash of UPS Flight 6, debate over whether manufacturers and regulators had been doing enough to prevent airborne fires had occurred.[18] Around the time of the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board had asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to install automatic fire extinguisher systems in the holds of cargo aircraft. UPS Airlines followed FAA regulations, which stated that pilots should depressurize the main cabin and climb to an altitude of at least 20,000 feet (6,100 m) upon detection of a fire so as to deprive the flames of oxygen.[19]

On September 23, 2010, the GCAA reported that 100% of the material contained in the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder was successfully downloaded by the NTSB and that the data was being analyzed.[20] In October 2010, Boeing announced that fire indication checklists were to be modified to instruct pilots that at least one of the three air conditioning systems must be left in operation in order to prevent excessive smoke accumulation on the flight deck.[21]

On July 24, 2013,[22] the GCAA released the final investigation report. The report indicated that the fire was caused by the autoignition of the contents of a cargo pallet, which contained more than 81,000 lithium type batteries and "other combustible materials".[23]

FAA reaction

In October 2010, the FAA issued a Safety Alert for Operators highlighting the fact that the cargo on board Flight 6 contained a large quantity of lithium type batteries.[10] The FAA issued a restriction on the carrying of lithium batteries in bulk on passenger flights.[24]

Dramatization

The crash was featured in the 15th season of Mayday (or Air Crash Investigation) on 11 January 2016. The episode aired on the National Geographic Channel in United Kingdom and the rest of the world and is entitled "Fatal Delivery".

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://avherald.com/h?article=4307772e&opt=0 location of crash site
  2. ↑ "Cargo plane crashes near Dubai motorway killing two". BBC News. March 12, 2007. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  3. ↑ Tom Bonnett. "Dubai: Plane Crashes Onto Motorway Setting Fire To Cars – Crew Missing". Sky News. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  4. ↑ Cummins, Chip (September 4, 2010). "UPS Cargo Plane Crashes Near Dubai". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  5. ↑ "UPS confirms Dubai 747-400 crash". Flight International. September 3, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ "UPS: Crashed 747 was three years old". Flight International. September 5, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  7. ↑ Timo Jäger (August 20, 2010). "Photograph showing serial number information". Airliners.net.
  8. ↑ "UPS flight crashes in Dubai". Business First. September 3, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  9. 1 2 "UAE: UPS 747 had smoke in cockpit before crash Archived September 15, 2010, at Archive.is." Associated Press at Las Vegas Sun. Saturday September 11, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 "Crash: UPS B744 at Dubai on Sep 3rd 2010, fire in cockpit". The Aviation Herald. September 3, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  11. ↑ "UPS freighter had radio failure and fire before fatal crash." Arabian Aerospace. September 9, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  12. 1 2 Kaminski-Morrow, David. "Ill-fated UPS crew offered Doha alternate after fire alarm". Flight International. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  13. 1 2 "GCAA Announces the Preliminary Report on the accident involving UPS6 Boeing 747 – 400 on 3rd September, 2010" (Press release). UAE General Civil Aviation Authority. September 5, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  14. ↑ "NTSB assists Government of the United Arab Emirates in aviation accident" (Press release). National Transportation Safety Board. September 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Boeing Statement on UPS Accident at Dubai" (Press release). Boeing. September 3, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  16. ↑ Singh, Mandeep. "Bahrain probes crash..." Gulf Daily News. Monday September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  17. ↑ Malas, Nour and Andy Pasztor. "UPS Crash Puts Focus on Smoke in Cockpit." The Wall Street Journal. September 7, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  18. ↑ Cummins, Chip and Andy Pasztor. "UPS Cargo Plane Crashes Near Dubai." The Wall Street Journal. September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  19. ↑ Downs, Jere. "NTSB has been seeking fire fighting equipment on cargo planes." The Courier-Journal. September 9, 2010. 1. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  20. ↑ "GCAA reveals more details regarding the Crash of UPS Boeing 747 – 400 Cargo investigation" (Press release). UAE General Civil Aviation Authority. September 23, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  21. ↑ Hradecky, Simon. "Crash: UPS B744 at Dubai on Sep 3rd 2010, fire in cockpit". Aviation Herald. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  22. ↑ Vicky Kapur (July 25, 2013). "UPS Dubai crash: GCAA final report links accident to lithium batteries". Emirates 24|7. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Air Accident Investigation Report - Uncontained Cargo Fire Leading to Loss of Control Inflight and Uncontrolled Descent Into Terrain" (PDF). General Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  24. ↑ Hradecky, Simon. "The risks of lithium batteries in aircraft cargo". Aviation Herald. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
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