Prayers for First Lt Pilot Suhail Mubarak Abdullah Al Dhaheri were held on Wednesday afternoon at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Dibba, Fujairah.
Prayers for First Lt Pilot Suhail Mubarak Abdullah Al Dhaheri were held on Wednesday afternoon at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Dibba, Fujairah.

Funeral for UAE pilot who died in crash



ABU DHABI // He did the impossible, flying again after a car accident that left him with ruined ligaments and other serious injuries.

Three years later, he spent his last moments in a Mirage fighter jet, before it crashed between Abu Dhabi and Liwa during a routine training exercise on Tuesday night.

First Lt Suhail Al Dhaheri was 27. He had been scheduled to sign his marriage contract today.

Family and friends described his passion for flying and playing football. "Flying is all he ever wanted to do," said his eldest brother, Ali, 39, an aviation engineer.

First Lt Al Dhaheri enrolled in aviation high school as soon as he finished ninth grade and then continued on to military aviation college.

"I was against it," his brother said. "I wanted him to finish his studies properly and get higher education. But I was out of the country at that time and I came back to find him already enrolled in the aviation high school."

In May 2007, First Lt Al Dhaheri was involved in a serious car accident. The vehicle was in flames and he was stuck inside. Afterwards, his medical treatment included a ligaments transplant. Doctors said he had little chance to fly again.

"A pilot needs a lot of medical tests before he flies. We all thought he will never fly again, but it was his strong will because he always wanted to fly," Mr Al Dhaheri said.

The brothers were together during the most critical moments of First Lt Al Dhaheri's life and death.

"I was with him as they flew him from Saqr Hospital in RAK to Dubai for the surgery after the [car] accident. And now I was with his body as it was transferred from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah to the burial."

Although he was the one to receive the body, he did not take a goodbye glance after an officer advised him against doing so.

"I asked to see it, but he told me no, the memory will stick with you forever, so I just signed."

As Mr Al Dhaheri tried to reflect on the special memories he shared with his brother, he broke into tears before recalling their weekly ritual.

"I used to play football with him [on PlayStation] always every weekend. I would call to him from his room to play; he used to love challenging me. He liked England and I liked France."

The pilot had been due to sign his marriage contract today to a 22-year-old girl he met through his sister. "He saw her once only two weeks ago in her house when he and my sister and mother visited [her family] to propose," said Mr Al Dhaheri. "He said he liked her straight away and we paid an amount of the dowry as a confirmation of the verbal agreement."

His fiancee, who was scheduled to marry him on November 11, was devastated when she found out he had died.

"My brothers and father knew, but no one told me," said the young woman, who did not wish to be named because of family tradition.

"The next morning I received a message from his sister saying, 'We belong to Allah and to him we shall return, we lost the precious one'."

She said at first she thought it was one of First Lt Al Dhaheri's brothers, but when she called the family she discovered it was her fiance.

She said she had already started preparing her wedding dress and the marriage requirements.

Family members recalled with fondness First Lt Al Dhaheri's habit of sending a message to all his contacts every Friday, including a religious message or prayer.

"Also anyone who was upset with him or with anyone else he had to send them messages," said Mr Al Dhaheri.

One of the last phone calls he made was to his mother. He told her he would call as soon as he landed. His mother was on Umrah pilgrimage when the accident happened, and was told by one of her sons that First Lt Al Dhaheri had been in an accident and that she should fly back to see him.

"She kept calling every five minutes to talk to him; I had to make up excuses that he was in ICU, he was sleeping … but she had a feeling."

Mrs Al Dhaheri was told the news by her son Abdullah when she arrived at the airport from Saudi Arabia. "When I went to see her the next day, she asked me, 'Where is your brother? You lied to me but my heart felt it'," Mr Al Dhaheri said.

The fifth-eldest of 19 siblings - 10 boys and 10 girls from two different mothers, 10 from each - First Lt Al Dhaheri was known for his especially close relationship with his mother.

"He would call her before he took any step. Even when he decided to get engaged he told mother first and took her and my sister with him."

He would always call her before any flight and as soon as he landed.

When his closest brother, Abdullah, received the news, the first thing that came to his mind was an incident that occurred a week before his death.

"He was on late shift, and when he arrived home in his pilot uniform, I was sitting with our cousin Falah, and he started asking him about their pilot colleagues. He described how this person died in a plane crash and so did the other. And then it happened to him."

Abdullah Al Dhaheri, a 29-year-old engineer, said he was sitting with his friends when one of them received a message on his BlackBerry about a missing pilot whose plane crashed.

"I suspected it was him because I called him an hour ago and he did not pick up," Abdullah Al Dhaheri said. "So I kept calling all his three mobile numbers, but he did not answer."

First Lt Al Dhaheri's cousin, Falah Ahmad, 29, also an Air Force pilot, remembered how a week ago after they were playing football, the pilot told him that was his last time to play, because he was preparing to get married and did not want to suffer any injuries for work as well.

"And his words came true; it was really his last time to play."

* With additional reporting from Amna Al Haddad

Match info

Huddersfield Town 0

Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')

ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Eyasses squad

Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)

Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)  

Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)

Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)

Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)

Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)

Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)

Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)

Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)

Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)

Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)         

Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

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