Pilots Of Crashed UPS Jet Complained Of Fatigue On Cockpit Recording

WASHINGTON (AP) — A cockpit voice recorder transcript shows the pilots of a UPS cargo jet that crashed last August complained of tiring work schedules that don't allow enough time for sleep at the start of the fatal flight.

The transcript was released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board at the start of a hearing on the predawn accident. Both pilots were killed when their plane slammed into a hillside short of a runway in Birmingham, Ala.

Captain Cerea Beal Jr. was flying the plane. He complained to First Officer Shanda Fannin that cargo pilots aren't given as much time to rest between work shifts as federal regulations require for pilots at passenger airlines.

Fannin agreed. She said she had "good sleep" the previous night, but woke up tired anyway.

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