ter: it war: it was just before 5:00 a.m. when the airbus a-300 ach tots final approach to birmingham international. et in justscended nearly 7,000 feet in just one minute before striking trees and slamming into the hills a half-mile from runway 18. former delta pilot kevin hiatt has landed there many times. he told us a steep descent is not uncommon, but compares an early-morning approach to runway 18 to flying through a black hole. a that're coming in over a d you ma area that's fairly dark, and you may lose some of your spatial orientation as you're flying into there, and you're relying more on your >> repments at the time. id howorter: the n.t.s.b. has not said how experienced the two pilots were with the approach to that runway. scott, investigators will review the activities of those pilots in the 72 hours prior to the crash to determine whether fatigue may have been a factor. >> pelley: manuel, thank you.