2 fatal · AIRBUS A300 - F4 622R · 2013-08-14 · Birmingham, AL, USA
Event
NTSB number
DCA13MA133
Event ID
20130814X15751
Type
Accident
Date
2013-08-14
Location
Birmingham, AL, USA
Coordinates
33.563888, -86.802223
Injuries
Highest injury
FATL
Fatal
2
Serious
0
Minor
0
Uninjured
0
Total aboard
2
Aircraft
Make
AIRBUS
Model
A300 - F4 622R
Registration
N155UP
FAR Part
121
Engines
2
Damage
DEST
Conditions
Light
NDRK
Weather
Unk
Probable cause
the flight crew's continuation of an unstabilized approach and their failure to monitor the aircraft's altitude during the approach, which led to an inadvertent descent below the minimum approach altitude and subsequently into terrain. Contributing to the accident were (1) the flight crew's failure to properly configure and verify the flight management computer for the profile approach; (2) the captain's failure to communicate his intentions to the first officer once it became apparent the vertical profile was not captured; (3) the flight crew's expectation that they would break out of the clouds at 1,000 feet above ground level due to incomplete weather information; (4) the first officer's failure to make the required minimums callouts; (5) the captain's performance deficiencies likely due to factors including, but not limited to, fatigue, distraction, or confusion, consistent with performance deficiencies exhibited during training; and (6) the first officer's fatigue due to acute sleep loss resulting from her ineffective off-duty time management and circadian factors.