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Tower audio from UPS crash that killed 2 released

Debris burns as a UPS cargo plane lies on a hill at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport after crashing on approach on Aug. 14, 2013, in Birmingham, Ala. Toni Herrera-Bast, a spokeswoman for Birmingham's airport authority, says there are no homes in the immediate area of the crash.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An audio recording from the control tower at Birmingham's airport shows workers were trying to reopen the main runway when a UPS cargo jet crashed while trying to land on an alternate runway, killing two pilots.

The recording shows an air traffic controller asked a Birmingham Airport Authority worker about reopening the runway less than two minutes before the Airbus A300-600 jet went down on Aug. 14.

The main runway was closed for maintenance, and the UPS aircraft attempted to land on a shorter runway. The jet clipped trees and slammed into a hill near the runway.

The recording shows a cargo carrier from UPS competitor FedEx landed safely on the main runway just moments after the crash in Alabama.

The audio is posted on the Federal Aviation Administration's website.

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