A United Parcel Service cargo plane crashed during its landing approach at the Birmingham, Ala., airport on Wednesday morning, killing the pilot and the co-pilot, the authorities said.

The accident occurred about 6 a.m., as U.P.S. Flight 1354, which was en route from Louisville, Ky., made its descent toward Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, about five miles northeast of downtown Birmingham, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane, an Airbus A300, a twin-engine aircraft that is commonly used by air cargo companies for medium-range flights, went down in a field about half a mile from a north runway at the airport, officials said.