UPS Airlines Flight 6

UPS Airlines Flight 6 was a scheduled international cargo flight operated by UPS Airlines. On September 3, 2010, the Boeing 747-400 flying the route between Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Cologne, Germany, developed an in-flight fire, which caused the aircraft to crash, killing both crew members, the only people on board. It was the first fatal air crash for UPS Airlines. The accident prompted a re-evaluation of safety procedures protecting airliners from cockpit smoke.

Accident

After arriving from Hong Kong earlier in the day, Flight 6 departed from Dubai International Airport at 18:53 local time (14:53 UTC) on September 3, 2010, bound for Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany.

At 19:15, the EICAS message FIRE MAIN DK FWD appeared on the upper EICAS display, and the crew reported fire in the cockpit when the aircraft was around 120 nmi west-northwest of Dubai. An emergency was declared shortly afterward. The pilots were under the control of Bahrain's air traffic control (ATC), and they could not initially contact Dubai ATC because of thick smoke entering the flight deck that obscured the radio panel. Although they were offered a diversion 100 nmi to Doha, Qatar, Captain Lampe decided to return to Dubai. The thick smoke required the pilots to communicate with nearby planes over VHF to relay messages to Bahrain ATC, as Bell was unable to see the radio through the smoke. The aircraft involved in relaying messages from UPS 6 included three Boeing 737-800s operated by Flydubai, and the Dubai Royal Air Wing's own 747-400, callsign Dubai One.

Lampe disengaged the autopilot to fly the plane manually. Upon doing so, he discovered that he had no elevator control. The fire had burned through the protective fire-resistant liner that covered the cargo hold and destroyed the primary flight control system, crippling the 747. At 19:20, Lampe's oxygen mask failed and he relinquished command of the plane to First Officer Bell. Captain Lampe subsequently left his seat to retrieve the emergency reserve oxygen system (EROS) oxygen mask, which was stowed behind his seat. However, he lost consciousness soon after as a result of hypoxia after inhaling the acrid smoke, and he collapsed on the floor of the flight deck. The fire was thought to have also disrupted the oxygen supply to the EROS mask, leaving Lampe with no oxygen to return to the pilot seat and fly the plane. Bell was instructed to land on the airport's runway 12L.

The aircraft was too high on the approach and the gear did not extend. The aircraft passed over the airport before making a tight turn. Bell attempted to turn toward Sharjah International Airport, but mistakenly turned in the wrong direction (195° instead of 095°). Radar contact was lost shortly thereafter at 19:42 UTC. The aircraft finally struck the ground at a shallow angle and at high speed in an unpopulated area between the Emirates Road and Al Ain Highway, barely missing Dubai Silicon Oasis. The right wing hit the ground first and the burning 747 skidded a few meters, exploding in a fireball, killing both Bell and the unconscious Lampe instantly. Many of the initial reports were issued by Emirates pilots living in the area.