UPS Plane Crashes Near Alabama Airport Killing 2 People; What Caused The Plane To Go Down? [VIDEO]

A UPS plane has crashed just outside an Alabama airport. The UPS aircraft was carrying cargo when it crashed killing the pilot and co-pilot on Wednesday morning. Associated Press is reporting the plane went down in an open filed. The crash has not disturbed airport business but did take down a tree and a utility pole.

The UPS cargo plane was traveling to Birmingham International Airport from Louisville and making its final approach at 6:01am when it crashed. Yahoo News reports an investigation into the cause of the crash was launched immediately after news of the accident broke. Yahoo also says the National Transportation and Safety Board has assigned a "Go Team" to get to the bottom of the crash.

"The NTSB investigation will be led by our lead investigator in charge, Dr. Dan Bower, accompanied by experts in the area of structures, power plants, systems, air traffic control, human performance, aircraft performance, and a number of disciplines," Robert Sumwalt an NTSB board member told reporters in Washington DC.

No distress signal was sent by either the pilot or co-pilot before the crash. When the plane went down it burst into flames, sending chunks of charred cargo across the empty field where it landed. Aftermath footage of the plane crash shows images of twisted and burned metal. Both men on board the aircraft were pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness to the crash told the Birmingham News, "At first I thought it was thunder. The power went off and I looked out the window and saw nothing but fire."

The Denver Free Press reports the last time a UPS plane crashed was 2010. The plane went down in Dubai and the cause was determined to be the fault of the cargo. The plane was reported to have been carrying lithium batteries that caught fire during the flight. The casue of Wednesday's crash is still unclear.

The President of UPS Airlines, Mitch Nichols made a statement picked up by the Denver Free Press saying, "This incident is very unfortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are with those involved. We place the utmost value on the safety of our employees, our customers and the public. We will immediately engaged with the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation, and we will work exhaustively on response efforts."