Americans killed in UAE air crash

Four Americans were killed when the small plane they were travelling in crashed shortly after take-off in the United Arab Emirates.

The aircraft was en route to Saudia Arabia – the first leg of a return trip to the US, the US embassy said.

The plane veered to the left after take-off and crashed before catching fire, local media quoted aviation officials as saying.

The names of the dead have not yet been released.

The National newspaper, based in Abu Dhabi, said the aircraft was a McKinnon G21G, a fixed-wing, twin-engine aircraft.

It was owned by Triple S Aviation, a Texas-based aircraft service company with a branch office in Dubai, The National reported.

The company could not immediately be reached by the BBC for comment.