A cargo plane crashed and exploded near the Birmingham, Alabama airport this morning.
NBC News is reporting that the crash took place around 6 a.m. this morning at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the UPS plane was an Airbus A330 that was coming in from Louisville, Kentucky.
According to Alabama’s 13, a local NBC affiliate, the site of the crash was still burning when its news crew arrived. Residents in the area recalled hearing a loud boom and other explosions. Authorities asked the media to stay away as the explosions continued.
Toni Bast, a spokeswoman for the Birmingham airport authority, told the Associated Press that the plane crashed just outside the perimeter fence and will not impede airport operations.
Alabama Media Group’s K.A. Turner tweeted an image of the scene.
UPS tweeted that the company “been notified of an incident involving one of our aircraft near Birmingham.”
There have been no reports of injuries or people killed yet. UPS spokesman Mike Nangeot told WRBC that there were two people onboard the plane. According to early reports, they have not been located yet.