Four dead after plane crashes close to Dubai International Airport

Four people have died following a plane crash close to Dubai International Airport.

The small plane – a Diamond DA42 aircraft – crashed about 5km south of the airport at around 7.30pm on Thursday evening, killing all four people on board including the pilot and his assistant.

The General Civil Aviation Authority said three of the dead were British and one was South African. It added that the aircraft was British registered, and was on a mission to calibrate terrestrial navigation systems at the airport.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Media Office added that the plane belonged to multinational conglomerate Honeywell, and “crashed due to a technical malfunction”.

-2 with all crew members, three British, and one South African, killed.
An investigation team from the GCAA arrived at the scene of the crash and air traffic at the airport is back to normal, adding that GCAA will continue the investigation and provides updates on the progress.

— GCAA UAE (@gcaauae) May 16, 2019

Some flights were diverted by Dubai International airport between 7.36pm and 8.22pm, with others held in the air for some time before being allowed to land as air traffic at the airport returned to normal.