JOUF, 29 January 2003 — A Saudi pilot was killed when his small plane crashed while chasing a number of intruders into a nature reserve north of the Kingdom, a wildlife official was quoted as saying yesterday.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Abuzinada, secretary-general of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), told Al-Jazirah daily that the agency’s pilot Tareq Munzel Al-Naseeri, 40, had been flying at a low altitude over the reserve near Jouf.
Abuzinada could not confirm if the intruders fired shots at the small plane, causing it to crash.
Other sources attributed the accident either to the pilot flying dangerously low and hitting one of the small mountains in the area or to a defect in the American-made aircraft, according to Al-Madinah newspaper.
The daily said Capt. Al-Naseeri took off in his small plane to confirm reports that hunters were intruding into the reserve area. Having reached the area, he started flying low and was circling at a low altitude before disappearing from the radar.
Fellow pilots looking for him noticed rising smoke and found that his plane had crashed and the pilot died as a result of the impact.
This is the second accident involving a NCWCD plane in 16 years.
Capt. Al-Naseeri, who had been working in the agency for four years, died leaving behind five sons and a daughter. A committee has been formed to investigate this accident.
