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Four Americans die in Al Ain plane crash
ABU DHABI - Four Americans were killed when their small private aircraft crashed mid air immediately after takeoff at Al Ain International Airport on Sunday evening.
Confirming the accident and the fatalities, the General Civilian Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the country said the small Grumman 21T private aircraft departed Al Ain International Airport for Riyadh in Saudi Arabia with the four onboard, including the pilot, who died mid-air, at 20.07 local time.
The authority said the eight-seat jet, belonging to Texas-based Triple S Aviation (TSA), crashed shortly after take-off, killing all four on board.
The rescue teams, including the fire-fighters and ambulances, reached the spot without delay.
“Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft veered to the left and crashlanded on a taxiway. The airport fire and rescue services responded immediately and the accident site was secured by the police. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire,” said GCAA.
The official added that a team will soon investigate the cause of the crash and release the report. “A team of experts has already been dispatched to the site.”
An employee of the airport told Khaleej Times that the plane burst into flames soon after takeoff. “It was around eight in the evening when the plane with four people took off and soon burst into flames. All the four on board, including the crew died. We still don’t know how many among the four were passengers. It is possible there could have been two passengers and two crew members, including the pilot,” she said.
An official at the airport also confirmed it was a private chartered flight and heading for Jeddah.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi confirmed that all the four victims in the crash were American citizens.
“The four people who died in their private plane crash after takeoff at Al Ain International Airport were Americans,” the embassy said in a brief announcement.
When contacted, a spokesman at the US Embassy told Khaleej Times that all the four people on board, all Americans, died when the aircraft crashed at around 8pm.
“The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi is in contact with their families back home,” he said. “The plane was on its first leg of trip to take them to US. The cause of the crash is being investigated and the embassy is in touch with GCAA (which is probing the crash) to find about the cause,” he added.
When asked about the victims’ background whether they were UAE residents or were on a business or leisure trip, the embassy official refused to provide details.
Grumman 21T is a new version of the famous Grumman G-21 Goose flying boat that has been famous for adventure trips in 1940s and during the World War II. It can take off and land on both land and water. The old Goose also earned fame for its feature in Jimmy Buffet’s first and famous novel ‘Where is Joe Merchant?
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