A small Britain-registered DA-42 plane crashed three miles (4.8 km) south of Dubai International Airport, killing four on board, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Thursday.

The four-seat plane crashed during a mission to calibrate terrestrial navigation systems at the airport, killing all crew members: three Britons and a South African, said a GCAA statement.

An investigation team from the GCAA arrived at the scene of the crash, the statement added.

GCAA said air traffic at the airport is back to normal and it will continue the investigation and provide updates.

The Dubai International Airport is one of the world's busiest airports in relation to international travellers, as more than 80 percent of passengers do not enter the United Arab Emirates but use the airport as a transition hub.