mystery plane toronto

Massive unmarked paramilitary jet mysteriously arrives in Toronto

An enormous plane arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, bearing a distinct lack of markings capable of sending the average conspiracy nut into overdrive.

Factor in the detail that the Boeing 747-400F is operated by Dubai Royal Air Wing, a paramilitary state airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and even more questions could be raised.

The Dubai Royal Air Wing's fleet of a dozen planes is mainly used to shuttle dignitaries on flights, including diplomatic missions.

It appears that either this plane or one with identical markings has been stopping at locations around the world over the last several weeks, including humanitarian aid flights from Dubai to Sudan and Ethiopia.

Despite the plane's official role and apparent participation in recent aid missions, there is good reason to believe that this flight is in Toronto for a purpose more personal to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who juggles the titles of the UAE's Vice President, Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed is known for his love of thoroughbred horse racing, and not without controversy either.

He has been reported to use this particular jet as his personal racehorse transport, which certainly aligns with the flight's origin of Louisville, home of The Kentucky Derby and a horse racing destination known around the world.

Few other threads connect Louisville and Toronto besides thoroughbred horse racing.

Sheikh Mohammed's horseracing team, Godolphin, reportedly has three horses in Toronto this week for "Grade 1 assignments" at Woodbine Racetrack.

There's no way to know for sure without confirmation from the Dubai Royal Air Wing, but it feels like a pretty safe bet that this mystery flight is horse-related.

So before you go jumping to conclusions about ominous unmarked planes, consider for a minute that maybe someone with excessive wealth just needs an Air Force One-sized behemoth to send his thoroughbred horses around the world.

Lead photo by

Ernest Gutschik Aviation


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's a preview of what it will be like to ride on new Toronto LRT line

There's a brand-new $26M TTC subway station entrance in a popular Toronto park

Ontario's largest snake grows up to 2 metres and squeezes prey to death

Ontario is home to world's oldest pool of water at a staggering 2 billion years old

Stunning new Toronto park set to open next year

Toronto somehow isn't home to Ontario's jankiest LRT

A Toronto transit project is actually going to finish early for once

People worried about Ontario police's plan to use facial recognition software