The UAE investigation team has found one of the two black boxes of the UPS cargo plane that crashed in Dubai on Friday, killing two pilots.

A UPS cargo aircraft that took off from Dubai International airport on Friday crashed in an uninhabited, military area killing both crew members.

Confirming the incident, a statement issued by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said bodies of both pilots were recovered from the crash site.

The pilot radioed air traffic control shortly after takeoff and said there was a fire on board, said Saif al Suwaidi, the director-general of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

“He reported fire and smoke in the cockpit,” Al Suwaidi said. “He was asked to return but he missed the approach and then he disappeared from the radar. We then found that he had crashed between Al Ain Road and the Emirates Road. So far there’s no casualties on the ground that we know of.”

The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot have been retrieved from the wreckage, the GCAA said.

Col Ahmed al Sayegh, deputy chief of Dubai Civil Defence, confirmed that the plane turned back due to a “technical error” after takeoff.

Dubai Police rescue unit that rushed to the sport had earlier confirmed that the aircraft crashed in an uninhabited desert area between Emirates Road and Al Ain Road after 8pm.

In a statement, UPS cargo confirmed that the Boeing 747-400 Jumbo cargo plane was headed to Cologne, Germany.

An official at Dubai International airport said the crew had reported fire on board and was attempting to turn around to the airport when the plane went down.

Meanwhile, all operations are normal at the Dubai International Airport.

(Additional reporting by Bindu Suresh Rai, VM Sathish and Rakesh Kombra)