9:07 a.m.: Authorities have expanded their perimeter around the



9:02 a.m.: Updated statement from UPS:



At 6:11 a.m. EST, UPS Flight 1354 from Louisville, KY to Birmingham, AL, an A300 with two crewmembers, was involved in an accident on approach into the Birmingham airport.



At this time, we have not confirmed the status of our pilots.



"This incident is very unfortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are with those involved," said UPS Airlines President Mitch Nichols.



"We place the utmost value on the safety of our employees, our customers and the public. We will immediately engage with the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation, and we will work exhaustively on response efforts," continued Nichols.



UPS will release more facts about this accident as they become available, but the NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will be the primary source of information going forward.



8:54 a.m.: National Transportation Safety Board officials are in route to Birmingham, and should be on the scene of today's UPS cargo plane crash shortly after 11 a.m., a board member said this morning.



Robert Sunwalt, who was appointed to the board in 1996 and later was appointed vice chairman by President George W. Bush, said investigators needed to see the crash scene first-hand before discussing the circumstances of the accident in detail.



The airplane's flight data recorders, commonly called "black boxes," likely will include information that will help investigators determine the cause of the crash, which killed two UPS employees.



"I'm optimistic that we'll be able to recover those," he said at a Washington, D.C., press conference moments before boarding a plane to Birmingham.



8:54 a.m.: This link shows the flight's path as it approached Birmingham from Louisville: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UPS1354



8:40 a.m.: There were no distress calls to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport tower before the crash, authorities said.



8:34 a.m.: Airport Hills resident Chris Evans, 60, retired said he heard the crash shortly before 5 am.



"At first I thought it was thunder," he said. "The power went off and I looked out the window and saw nothing but fire."



Evans said flames stretched over the hill and above the treetops. He walked down to the edge of the airport property, where he could see the cockpit of the plane broken from the fuselage. The door by the cockpit was open, but no one came out, he said.



The plane clipped some power lines at the end of the runway, and much of the surrounding neighborhoods are without power.



Evans said that he was grateful that the plane had not hit any homes as it crashed.



"We've been trying to get the airport to buy up the rest of these houses for years," he said.



8:04 a.m.: The National Transportation Safety Board has announced

Authorities have expanded their perimeter around the UPS cargo plane crash scene after reports of debris have been found on rooftops of nearby homes, Birmingham Mayor William Bell said. Residents have been advised to call police if they see debris.Updated statement from UPS:National Transportation Safety Board officials are in route to Birmingham, and should be on the scene of today's UPS cargo plane crash shortly after 11 a.m., a board member said this morning.Robert Sunwalt, who was appointed to the board in 1996 and later was appointed vice chairman by President George W. Bush, said investigators needed to see the crash scene first-hand before discussing the circumstances of the accident in detail.The airplane's flight data recorders, commonly called "black boxes," likely will include information that will help investigators determine the cause of the crash, which killed two UPS employees."I'm optimistic that we'll be able to recover those," he said at a Washington, D.C., press conference moments before boarding a plane to Birmingham.This link shows the flight's path as it approached Birmingham from Louisville: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UPS1354There were no distress calls to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport tower before the crash, authorities said.Airport Hills resident Chris Evans, 60, retired said he heard the crash shortly before 5 am."At first I thought it was thunder," he said. "The power went off and I looked out the window and saw nothing but fire."Evans said flames stretched over the hill and above the treetops. He walked down to the edge of the airport property, where he could see the cockpit of the plane broken from the fuselage. The door by the cockpit was open, but no one came out, he said.The plane clipped some power lines at the end of the runway, and much of the surrounding neighborhoods are without power.Evans said that he was grateful that the plane had not hit any homes as it crashed."We've been trying to get the airport to buy up the rest of these houses for years," he said.The National Transportation Safety Board has announced via Twitter that it is launching a "Go-Team" to Alabama in the UPS plane crash.

7:46 a.m.: Birmingham Mayor William Bell said the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. Their bodies, he said, are still in the cockpit of the plane and will remain there until the NTSB arrives on the scene.



No one on the ground was injured, which is fortunate he said, because there is a church and some homes about 500 yards away from the debris field.



"It's a tragedy anytime you have loss of life,'' the mayor said. "I am grateful for the men and women of the police and fire departments who quickly got the scene under control."

7:42 a.m.: Birmingham resident Eddie Smith, who lives on 90th Place North near the airport, said he heard a loud boom about 5 a.m.



"It shook my house so hard, I jumped up," Smith said.



A few minutes later, he said he heard another loud boom. Then it got quiet. He went outside to walk his dog and could see the smoke rising over the trees and hills.



Smith said he was stopped by a Birmingham police officer who drew his weapon and ordered him to return to his home and said that there had been a plane crash.

