Dubai plane crash: Aircraft 'hit by turbulence'

The plane came down three miles south of Dubai International Airport

A plane that crashed near Dubai's International Airport, killing four people, may have been hit by turbulence from the wake of another aircraft, an initial report has said.

The four-seater DA-62 was owned by Flight Calibration Services in Sussex.

French investigators said video footage showed the plane "encountered possible wake turbulence" from an Airbus landing on a parallel runway on 16 May.

The crash is being investigated by the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority.

A statement on the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses website said: "A Diamond DA-62 aircraft, registration mark G-MDME, was involved in a fatal accident while on approach to runway 30L of Dubai International Airport for a ground navigation equipment inspection flight.

"Video footage showed the aircraft encountered possible wake turbulence at about 1,100ft, following an Airbus A350, which landed on the parallel runway 30R."

Pilot William Blackburn, from Douglas on the Isle of Man, was among the four people who died in the crash.

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William Blackburn qualified as a commercial pilot in December 2016

He worked as first officer for the firm based at Shoreham Airport.

Two other Britons and a South African were on board the plane which had been hired by US engineering and aerospace company Honeywell for work in Dubai.

Earlier this month, a spokesman for Flight Calibration Services said the firm was "shocked and saddened beyond words by the loss of three colleagues and a Honeywell employee".

The firm said it was working closely with the accident investigation authorities.