BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the wreckage of a UPS jet that crashed at Birmingham's airport, killing two pilots.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Eric Weiss says the devices were found but declined to elaborate. Investigators had been combing the tail section of the plane, which is where the recorders are usually located.

Late Thursday morning, a reporter observed an investigator carrying a box-like object from the tail section. Investigators gathered around it for a moment, then put it on an ATV and left without commenting.

The two devices could hold key evidence about what happened as the jet was attempting to land in Birmingham early Wednesday. The plane slammed into a hillside just short of the runway.

A news conference was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.