Pilot involved in UPS cargo plane crash from Charlotte area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of the pilots killed in a cargo plane crash in Birmingham, Ala., was from the Charlotte area.

The UPS cargo jet, an A300, was flying from Lousiville, Ky., to Birmingham when it went down in a field just shy of the airport shortly before dawn Wednesday, killing the two pilots on board and scattering wreckage across a wide area.

The medical examiner in Birmingham has not released the names of the pilots killed, so Eyewitness News is not releasing the name of the Charlotte man at this time.

Eyewitness News went by the man's house Thursday and found a UPS security guard outside the house. He said the family has been swamped with phone calls and does not want to talk to the media at this time.

Neighbors said several cars were outside the family's house Wednesday. They described the pilot as friendly and always smiling.

"We live next to the walking path, and they were just going for a little walk together, and whenever I would see him we would just exchange pleasantries," said one woman, who did not want to give her full name.

"I saw him once in a while in his driveway but that's about it. It's so shocking that life can be so vulnerable," said Ari Mukherjee.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Investigators said no distress call went out before the crash happened.