Three British nationals and a South African have been killed in a plane crash in Dubai, halting traffic at the world’s busiest international airport.

A small plane registered in Britain was carrying four people when it crashed about five kilometres south of the Dubai International Airport early Friday, the Emirati General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said.

According to GCAA, the plane had set out “to calibrate land navigation devices at Dubai International Airport”.

An investigation into the incident is under way.

The UAE government previously said that two people – the pilot and his assistant – were killed in the crash.

According to a tweet by the Government of Dubai media office, the Diamond plane was owned by the company Honeywell and crashed because of a technical malfunction.

All operations at Dubai International Airport returned to normal after a delay of around an hour and the diversion of some flights, the media office said.

The calibration work came after Dubai shut down its southern runway on April 16  for resurfacing and the replacement of its lighting and supporting infrastructure. It is expected to reopen on May 30.

Dubai has cut back on some of its scheduled flights and redirected others to Al Maktoum Airport at Dubai World Central, the city’s second airport.

The city-state’s last major aircraft incident occurred on Aug. 3, 2016 when an An Emirates Boeing 777-300 crash landed.

No lives were lost among the 300 passengers and crew, but a firefighter was killed in a subsequent explosion.

-with AAP