The General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates announced on Friday that a helicopter had crashed into the sea, and a search is underway for its two-member crew.
“At approximately 20:30 on Thursday, September 7, 2023, the General Civil Aviation Authority received a report of a Bell 212 helicopter belonging to Aerogulf crashing into the sea.”
The helicopter carried two pilots, one Egyptian and one South African, and was on a night training flight that took off from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai.
The authority further reported that search and rescue teams have recovered debris, and the search for the helicopter’s crew is ongoing. An aviation accident investigation team has also been dispatched to the site.
Aerogulf is the primary operator of commercial helicopters in the UAE and was established in 1976 to provide services to the oil and gas sector before expanding its services to encompass other sectors.