Just missed a large pilot compound for EK. I can see the fire still burning from outside the perimeter of the compound. From what I recall, that side of Al Ain road is an old army facility, and new construction of villas. They didn't make Emirates road, if that was what their plan was. From here it doesn't look good.

SAD SAD DAY!

* Boeing 747 cargo jet crashes into Dubai military compound

* Two crew from UPS plane were killed - authorities

* Plane reported trouble after takeoff, was diverted

(Adds details, witness statement)

By Firouz Sedarat and Erika Solomon

DUBAI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - A 747-400 Boeing cargo plane operated by United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) crashed shortly after takeoff into a military compound near Dubai's airport on Friday, killing two crew members, authorities said.

U.S. parcel delivery company UPS confirmed the crash of the plane, which was en route to Cologne, Germany.

"I saw the plane suddenly dive down into the base and heard a huge explosion," said a nearby resident.

A government source familiar with the initial crash report said the plane had taken off from Dubai International Airport at 18:40 p.m. (1440 GMT) and was diverted to a military compound after reporting trouble.

The aircraft caught fire, hit a covered parking lot, then bounced and crashed, the source said, adding that there were no injuries on the ground.

The United Arab Emirates civil aviation authority said the bodies of the two crew members were recovered.

Saif al-Suwaidi, general manager of civil aviation, told Dubai TV that flights had not been affected at Dubai's airport, the busiest in the Middle East.

"The pilot reported fire and smoke in the cockpit and was instructed to return to Dubai. After failing to land at the airport, the plane disappeared from radar screens and was found later (at the crash site)," Suwaidi said.

Smoke was billowing from the base, a Reuters witness reported. Initially, Al Arabiya television had reported the plane had hit a busy highway, but later reports indicated it did not hit the road. (Additional reporting by Tamara Walid, James Kelleher in Chicago and Helen Chernikoff in New York; Writing by Reed Stevenson; Editing by Diana Abdallah)

according to CNN (USA), they'll show video in a couple of minutes

I just feel sick and heartbroken...

I am terribly sorry for all involved. What a tragedy.

My heart-felt condolences to the crew's family, friends and coworkers.

Prayers to all my brothers and sisters over at Brown.

I feel the same...

From the BBC website.

3 September 2010 Last updated at 14:46 ET
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Cargo plane crashes near Dubai motorway killing two
UPS tail-liveries (file picture) The plane was operated by the delivery service UPS

A cargo plane has crashed after take-off near a motorway in Dubai, killing two crew members aboard, officials say.

The plane, operated by the delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS), crashed near the Emirates Road.

Some reports said a fire had broken out in the plane just after it took off from Dubai airport.

The official news agency WAM said the plane had come down in an unpopulated area on Friday evening.

The Boeing 747-400 crashed into the ground inside the fence of a military air base, reports say.
Fireball

The plane flew near a residential area popular with expats where residents saw its last desperate moments.

"I saw the explosion from my balcony and felt the blast," said Tony Meechan, a British expat living in Silicon Oasis, a technology park on the Emirates Road.

"There was a big fireball that lit up the full sky in orange. After that there was smoke and the smell of burning plastic.

"I'm still feeling a bit shaken up."

The plane was on its way to the company's European hub in Cologne, a spokeswoman for UPS said.

In 2009 a Sudanese cargo plane crashed in the Dubai desert, killing six crew.

The company was subsequently barred from operating in the Emirates.
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I'm so sorry for all my brothers at UPS right now. The two pilots are home now...but it's miserable for the rest of us left behind. My prayers to their families and to all the great folks at brown.

Carl