Dubai, Aug 31 (AP) A small plane crashed in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, police said, injuring the pilot but causing no other casualties.

Instead of landing at the capital's private jet airport, the glider hurtled into the parking lot of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, police said. They attributed the crash of the plane, a single-engine, fixed-wing Cessna Caravan, to a "technical malfunction."

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The pilot was receiving treatment for minor injuries, police added, without saying whether there were any other passengers. The extent of the damage at the crash site in the capital of the UAE remained unclear.

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority said it would continue to investigate the cause of the technical failure. Authorities warned the public “not to spread rumors about the incident." Information is tightly controlled in the autocratic nation, which imposes stiff penalties on sharing footage or content that could harm the UAE's reputation as a safe haven in a turbulent region.

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The country's last major aircraft incident happened in May 2019, when a small plane involved in upgrading a runway at Dubai International Airport smashed into a park, killing four people and halting traffic at the world's busiest airport for international travel. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)