ABU DHABI: A vintage turboprop US plane has been crashed shortly after taking off from Runway of Abu Dhabi's Al Ain International Airport killing four Americans on board, US and Emirati officials said Monday.
Investigations are underway to sort out the possible cause for the crash. The identities of those killed _ the only people on board _ were not immediately disclosed.
A statement by the US Embassy to local media said the plane was en route to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the first leg of a trip back to the United States.
The crashed aeroplane is apparently a vintage twin engine aircraft that had been modified. It went down moments after taking off at Al Ain International Airport about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Abu Dhabi. A statement by the UAE’s Civil Aviation Authority said it crashed the taxiway before catching fire.
The aircraft was reported to be a McKinnon Turbo Goose G21G, which is a version of an earlier Grumman G21 aircraft converted from piston engines to turboprops.
The Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported the plane is owned by Triple S Aviation, a Texas-based aircraft service company with a branch office in Dubai.
According to the company’s website, it offers business aircraft, helicopters, and special use aircraft to the Middle East and South Asian markets. – AP
