UPS Cargo Plane Crashes in Dubai



UPS plane crash site, Dubai 9/3/10
(Dubai, UAE) Last Friday, a UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Dubai International Airport. The plane was Boeing 747-400 destined for Cologne, Germany.

Apparently, the plane took off and was flying north at high altitude when fire and smoke were reported in the cockpit. The pilots returned to Dubai, missed the runway on first approach and crashed shortly thereafter.

Captain Doug Lampe and First Officer Matthew Bell died in the crash. They were the only casualties.

A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), led by investigator Bill English, has reportedly arrived in Dubai to look into Friday’s UPS cargo plane crash that took the lives of its two pilots.[…]

Sources close to the incident have confirmed that English, along with his team of NTSB specialists in areas of fire, human performance, operations and systems have arrived to assist in the matter.

The team will also include technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, UPS, GE and the Independent Pilots Association.

Note that the plane was only three years old and it had completed a major inspection in June 2010.

Frankly, when a relatively-new American airplane with an American crew reportedly catches fire immediately after leaving a Muslim nation, I believe it's prudent to consider the possibility of sabotage.