An 'amateur-built' light aircraft crashed in the parking area of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Wednesday. Victor Besa / The National
An 'amateur-built' light aircraft crashed in the parking area of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Wednesday. Victor Besa / The National
An 'amateur-built' light aircraft crashed in the parking area of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Wednesday. Victor Besa / The National
An 'amateur-built' light aircraft crashed in the parking area of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Wednesday. Victor Besa / The National

Aircraft in Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque crash was 'amateur-built'


Rory Reynolds
  • English
  • Arabic

An aircraft that crashed outside Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was an "amateur-built" kit plane, investigators said.

The light single-engine aircraft plunged into the mosque's car park about 5pm on Wednesday, injuring the pilot.

A large number of emergency services were sent to the scene. Officials said no one else was hurt.

The General Civil Aviation Authority said "preliminary investigations showed the accident was caused by a technical malfunction while the amateur-built plane was en route to land at Al Bateen Executive Airport", state news agency Wam reported.

The aircraft "crashed in an unpopulated area".

Al Bateen airport is in the south of Abu Dhabi island, with the start of the runway less than half a kilometre from the mosque.

"The pilot was injured and rushed to hospital for treatment and monitoring."

The GCAA will continue investigating the accident. Abu Dhabi Police initially said the aircraft was a glider.

At the scene of the crash on Wednesday, the front of the plane appeared to be collapsed, with the surviving tail sticking up into the air.

The plane touched down some distance from the main entrance to the mosque.

Known as 'kit planes', such aircraft are popular among solo flyers and hobbyists. They are normally designed for short pleasure trips and can manage short take-off and landing due to their light weight.

Al Bateen airport was closed to planes between May and August while a major runway refurbishment was carried out. Helicopter services continued throughout.

It reopened last month, with its runway now able to cater for wide-body aircraft.

Al Bateen airport reopens for flights – in pictures

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  2. Vogue Fitness 
  3. Sweat
  4. Bodytree Studio
  5. The Hot House
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Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Teams

India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami

South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second

Squads

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz

Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara

Updated: September 01, 2022, 7:58 AM