Evidence points to fire in UPS plane cargo hold

As the investigations continue into the cause of Friday’s fateful plane crash in Dubai, evidence seems to strongly point in the direction of a smoke-filled cockpit that reduced visibility for its two pilots who were killed in the accident.

The United Parcel Service or UPS cargo plane crash, which came down in a deserted area near Emirates Road 50 minutes after take off from Dubai International Airport, is now being investigated with reports of a possible fire breaking out in its cargo hold.

A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), led by investigator Bill English, is in Dubai and is working closely with the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE and a team from UPS.

While sources close to the investigation confirmed this possible scenario with Emirates24|7, news agency AP has also quoted sources saying that investigators are now trying to verify which cargo aboard the Boeing 747-400 was located just forward of the starboard wing, where the fire erupted.

Investigators also want to know if there were any lithium-ion batteries in that location. If a battery short-circuits, it can catch fire and ignite others.

The NTSB investigative team includes specialists in areas of fire, human performance, operations and systems.

The team will also include technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, UPS, GE and the Independent Pilots Association.

GCAA has refrained from commenting if a pilot error had been completely ruled out.

A source had told emirates 24|7 earlier that the growing smoke reduced the visibility of the pilots, who requested Bahrain Air Traffic Control to land the plane.

However, due to the pain’s high altitude, Bahrain requested the plane to turn around to Dubai for easier landing.

The UAE Air Traffic Control (ATC) centre issued a clearance when the aircraft was approximately 40km from touchdown.

However, because the UPS plane was high on approach, it overshot the airfield and rapidly lost altitude.

By 7.42pm , radar contact was lost.

The two UPS pilots have been identified as Captain Doug Lampe and first officer Matthew Bell.

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