UPS Cargo Plane Crashes Near Dubai - WSJ.com
The plane took off around 7 p.m. local time, and, according to a person familiar with the situation in the U.A.E., the crew reported trouble shortly after becoming airborne and alerted air-traffic controllers, who eventually diverted the plane to a government-owned landing facility in the desert.According to one set of early data gathered by air-safety officials, the pilots may have tried but failed to land twice during the hour prior to the crash. Sometime during the reported sequence of two "missed approaches" to the airport, according to this information, the cockpit crew declared a mayday, possibly due to smoke in the cockpit.
Some preliminary reports indicated that the pilots ultimately may have been forced to try to land at the government-owned facility after struggling with an onboard emergency that may have obscured their view of some cockpit instruments. Neither UPS nor local authorities were commenting on the precise sequence of events. After saying that the plane crashed on takeoff, a UPS spokeswoman later Friday confirmed there was an hour gap between its takeoff and the crash.
Went ''missed approach'' twice and 1 hour gap between take off and crash. Any info on that?
from another forum---
I had the misfortune of hearing the whole chain of events while we were going from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi. As time goes by and more information is gathered and released, the picture will become clearer. But the aircraft didn't crash on takeoff.
We were in Bahraini airspace when we heard the mayday of a "Fire on the 'Deck'" and an immediate descent to 10,000'. The captain requested vectors back to Dubai immediately. As the moments passed the whole cockpit filled with smoke and the CA indicated he could not see any instruments at all. With no visual reference and all instruments unreadable as well as difficulty relaying messages and getting information (reentered UAE FIR but was still talking to BAH 'cause he couldn't change frequencies). Altitudes, headings etc had to be relayed from UAE to BAH to airborne aircraft to UPS and back again (A MESS to say the least). Wound up straight in for 12L at DXB at 10 miles and 7,000'. Couldn't circle because he couldn't see anything. Turned south of the airport -blind- the whole while altitudes are being read to him. It was of no use. The aircraft crashed into a fairly unpopulated area (thankful for that at least). Words can't express the whole situation adequately.