UPS Airlines Flight 1354

UPS Airlines
Industry	Cargo airline
Founded	1988
Founder	United Parcel Service
Headquarters	Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Parent	United Parcel Service
Website	www.ups.com

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article UPS Airlines Flight 1354, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 2025

UPS Airlines Flight 1354 was a cargo service operating between Louisville, Kentucky, and Birmingham, Alabama. On August 14, 2013, the Airbus A300 assigned to this route crashed and ignited shortly before reaching the runway during its approach to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport. Both pilots onboard lost their lives at the crash site. This tragedy represented UPS Airlines' second fatal aviation accident.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A300F4-622R, ten years old at the time, bearing the registration N155UP and serial number 841. Manufactured in 2004, UPS took possession in February of that year. It was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney PW4158 engines and had accumulated approximately 11,000 flight hours across 6,800 cycles before the incident.

Crew

The captain in command was 58-year-old Cerea Beal, Jr. He joined UPS in October 1990 as a Boeing 727 flight engineer after previous experience at TWA as both flight engineer and first officer on the Boeing 727. Beal advanced to first officer on the UPS 727 fleet in 1994 and transitioned to the Airbus A300 as first officer in 2004, achieving captain status by 2009. At the time of the accident, his total flight time with UPS was 6,406 hours, including 3,265 hours on the A300.

The first officer was Shanda Fanning, aged 37. She began working for UPS in 2006 as a flight engineer on the Boeing 727. Fanning became a first officer on the Boeing 757 in 2007, moved to the Boeing 747 in 2009, and started flying the A300 in June 2012. Her total flight experience amounted to 4,721 hours, with 403 logged on the A300.

Accident

Operating under dark night visual flight rules amid variable instrument meteorological conditions north of the airport, the aircraft was inbound on its scheduled route. A NOTAM specified that runway 06/24—the airport's longest runway equipped with a precision approach—was closed from 04:00 to 05:00 CDT. Since the flight’s planned arrival time was at 04:51, only runway 18 remained available for landing, which offered a non-precision approach.

Due to forecasted low cloud ceilings requiring an alternate landing site, neither the dispatcher nor crew discussed this contingency or the limited approach options available; information about potential reopening of runway 06/24 was not communicated either. Additionally, updates regarding fluctuating ceiling conditions were not provided during flight.

At approximately 04:47 local time, the airplane struck trees and impacted terrain multiple times while ascending uphill short of the runway. The fuselage fragmented upon impact; both pilots perished as a result.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) assembled a team of 26 specialists to secure fragile evidence from the crash site. Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) were retrieved and subjected to detailed analysis.

During an official briefing, investigators noted that the crew had prepared for an approach to runway 18 and received clearance to land shortly before impact. The ground proximity warning system (GPWS) issued "sink rate" warnings prior to an excessive descent rate. The CVR captured initial tree strikes seconds after pilots reported visual contact with the runway, followed by a final "too low terrain" alert and sounds consistent with impact.

The French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), supported by Airbus technical experts and FBI Evidence Response Team personnel, participated in the investigation. By late August no mechanical failures had been identified; authorities anticipated a protracted inquiry lasting several months.

A public hearing held in February 2014 disclosed that both pilots had discussed experiencing insufficient rest before undertaking this flight.

On September 9, 2014, the NTSB concluded that the probable cause was an unstabilized approach combined with inadequate altitude monitoring. The aircraft descended below minimum descent altitude without visual confirmation of the runway environment and collided with terrain approximately 3,300 feet short of the runway threshold while still under control.

Additional factors contributing to the accident included:

Improper configuration and verification of the flight management computer for executing the profile approach
The captain’s failure to communicate intentions when vertical profile capture did not occur
Anticipation of breaking out from cloud cover at around 1,000 feet above ground level due to incomplete weather briefings
The first officer’s omission of mandatory minimums callouts
Performance shortcomings by the captain potentially linked to fatigue, distraction, or confusion
The first officer’s fatigue resulting from acute sleep deprivation caused by ineffective management of off-duty rest periods

Aftermath

In 2014, the Independent Pilots Association initiated legal action against the FAA, seeking to revoke the exemption that cargo carriers had from mandatory minimum rest periods for flight crews. Two years later, a court in Washington, DC dismissed this case, upholding the FAA's decision to exclude cargo airlines based on a cost-benefit evaluation.

That same year, Bret Fanning, spouse of First Officer Shanda Fanning, pursued litigation against Honeywell Aerospace, contending that the A300’s Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) inadequately alerted the pilots about nearby terrain. He asserted that the warning sounded only one second prior to impact with trees. Conversely, the NTSB determined that the GPWS had issued a "sink rate" alert eight seconds before the aircraft first contacted the trees at an altitude of 250 feet above ground level.

In popular culture

UPS Airlines Flight 1354 was depicted in "Deadly Delivery," episode 10 of season 21 of the series Mayday.

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