Dubai: Fifteen skydivers escaped unscathed after a Skydive Dubai plane ditched in the desert shortly after an aborted take-off, said the company in a statement.
According to unconfirmed pictures circulating on social media, smoke billowed from the Cessna Caravan plane which came to rest on the belly of its fuselage on the side of a sand dune following the forced landing on Tuesday morning.
Officials with Skydive Dubai Desert Campus could not be reached for comment by phone on Thursday.
In a statement on Facebook, however, the company said that around 8am on Tuesday, “the pilot, flying over the desert campus encountered a technical problem shortly after it had taken off.
"The experienced pilot, however, managed to land the plane safely, with all 15 passengers walking away unharmed. An official investigation is being carried out by the local authorities to source the cause of the incident and a detailed report will be shared upon the completion of the investigation.”
According to Aviation Safety Network database there are 188 separate incidents logged by variations of the Cessna aircraft worldwide.
The crash follows the death on April 30 of this year of a Saudi national who plummeted to the ground while diving, Skydive Dubai confirmed at the time.
The company said in early May that its investigators and the Dubai Police were investigating that accident.
