UPS CARGO PLANE CRASH IN DUBAI KILLS TWO

By Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- A UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after taking
off from Dubai international airport Friday evening.

The Boeing 747-400 aircraft was en route to the German city of Cologne when
it went down, according to UPS, a leading package delivery company.

"UPS records indicate that two UPS employers were aboard. There are no known
survivors," the firm, with headquarters in Atlanta, said on its website.

Media reports here quoted officials from the General Civil Aviation
Authority as saying that the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot had been retrieved
from the wreckage.

The plane crashed at about 7.45pm in an uninhabited area near Emirates Road
and the Al Ain Road. So far, there were no reports of casualties on the ground.

Initial reports indicated that the plane had crashed on a busy highway but
these were found to be erroneous.

UPS's chairman and chief executive Scott Davis described the incident as a
"terrible tragedy" and extended sympathies to the families and friends of the
victims.

"We're doing our best to learn exactly what happened," he said.

In a statement issued in Seattle, Boeing said it was sending a team to Dubai
to provide technical support to the investigation at the invitation of the
authorities.

UPS said it was aware of news reports concerning possible events that led
to the incident, but was unable to confirm these reports.


"UPS Airlines is cooperating with government authorities on the scene, and
we've dispatched our own investigation team to the site to assist," the firm
said.

The National daily quoted Col Ahmed al Sayegh, deputy chief of Dubai Civil
Defence, as saying that the plane turned back due to a "technical error" after
take-off.

There were reports of a fire on board the ill-fated aircraft.

-- BERNAMA