UPS freighter crashes in Dubai, killing pilots

A UPS freighter crashed in Dubai on Friday 3 September killing the two pilots. They have been named as Captain Doug Lampe of Louisville, Kentucky, and First Officer Matthew Bell of Sanford, Florida.

The 747-400, en route to the UPS hub in Cologne (Germany), took off between 7 and 8pm local time before heading back with apparently fire and smoke in the cockpit. The pilots attempted two landings, both being aborted possibly due to smoke obscuring instruments before crashing attempting a third landing at a government- owned airbase.

“We will…release more information as it becomes available, in cooperation with government authorities. We will not speculate about the cause,” said UPS’s airline and international operations manager, Bob Lekites. “Until then, we ask for your patience in this difficult time.”

This is UPS’s first fatal aircraft crash.