[zipper]

People living near the airfield reported seeing flames coming from the plane and hearing its engines struggle in the final moments before impact.

"It was on fire before it hit," said Jerome Sanders, who lives directly across from the runway.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/faa-ups-jet-crashes-birmingham-ala-19954797

[Yosemitest]

Striking tree tops before it crashed might contribute to that.

UPS Flight 1354 missed Birmingham couple's home by a matter of feet (video)

[Yosemitest]

"Moments before Flight 1354 crashed into a hillside less than a quarter mile away, it clipped two trees in Cornelius and Barbara Benson's yard.
Splinters of pine tree tops and scraps of aluminum scattered across the yard.

The Benson's home at the intersection of Tarrant Huffman Road and Treadwell Road is the last house a plane passes over before it reaches the airport."



UPS plane crash: Aerial photos, video of crash site