Jordanian pilot killed in Saudi private jet crash

AMMAN — The Jordanian pilot of a private jet for the Saudi Bin Laden family was among the victims of a plane crash at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, England, on Friday, according to a relative and media agencies. 

Mazen Daajah was the pilot of the private jet, which was carrying three passengers of the Bin Laden family when the Saudi Arabia-registered plane ploughed into a car auction site and burst into flames in southern England, Agence France-Presse reported. 

The agency quoted local police as saying that the Phenom 300 jet was attempting to land at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire but crashed into the car lot. 

No one was injured  on the ground, AFP reported.

The Saudi ambassador “offered his condolences to the sons of the late Mohammed Bin Laden and their relations for the grave incident of the crash of the plane carrying members of the family at Blackbushe airport,” read a statement posted on the embassy’s official Twitter account..

Footage of the aftermath of Friday’s crash showed plumes of black smoke rising into the sky and several cars on fire in the outdoor area of British Car Auctions, where vehicles were parked awaiting sale, according to AFP.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement Friday that the plane was registered in the Gulf state, and that it would work with British investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

The BBC reported that the aircraft had taken off from Milan’s Malpensa Airport in Italy.

Hassan Daajah, the pilot’s cousin, said the 58-year-old Mazen is survived by eight children, and he will be buried in Medina, Saudi Arabia. 

Hassan told The Jordan Times over the phone on Saturday that the pilot had worked for Royal Jordanian, an airline company in Bahrain and as a trainer in the US. 

“He had been in Saudi Arabia for five years working for the Bin Laden family,” said the cousin. 

The date of the burial will be decided after UK authorities complete investigations, he added.. 

The family of Daajah lives in Northern Marka District in Amman. 

On Saturday, the Jordanian Pilots Association issued a statement offering condolences to the family.