All four passengers who were onboard a small plane when it crashed at the UK's Southend Airport, east of metropolitan London, have died according to police.
Flight SUZ1, a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air operated by Zeusch Aviation in the Netherlands, had flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula, Croatia, before heading to Southend on Sunday afternoon, local time.
It was due to return to Lelystad, Netherlands, on Sunday evening.
Police confirmed on Monday that the plane crashed after it "got into difficulty".
The 23-metre turboprop plane came down moments after take-off and burst into flames.
"Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died," Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
"We’re working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals.
"To aid our investigation, the Civil Aviation Authority has put in place a significant air exclusion zone surrounding the crash site.
"We’re also speaking with dozens of witnesses, some of whom have provided video footage and we’d like to thank them for their help – I know this will have been extremely distressing to witness."
All flights to and from the airport in Essex, on England's south-east coast, were cancelled while police, emergency services and air accident investigators attended the incident, the airport said in a social media post.
Zeusch Aviation also confirmed the flight had been involved in an accident and said the company was supporting the investigation.
"Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected," its statement said.
British media said it was a medical transport aircraft equipped with medical systems for transporting patients, specifically a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air heading to the Netherlands.
Zeusch Aviation operates medical evacuation and transplant flights as well as aerial mapping and private charters, according to its website.
Soon after the crash, images circulated on social media showing a plume of fire and black smoke emanating from the crash site above the Southend Airport, about 56 kilometres east of London.
The airport's website showed five international flights had been cancelled following the accident.
Plane crashed within seconds of taking off, witness says
Witness John Johnson, who was at the airport with his family, told news agency Associated Press he saw a "big fireball" after the plane "crashed head-first into the ground".
"It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed just head-first into the ground," he said.
"There was a big fireball."
Mr Johnson said that before the plane got into position for take-off, he and his family waved at the pilots and "they all waved back at us".
After the crash, Mr Johnson said the airport's fire service responded straight away, with two fire engines sent to the crash site, followed by local police, ambulance and fire services.
The East of England Ambulance Service said it had sent four ambulances and other response vehicles.
The local member of parliament, David Burton-Sampson, urged people to stay away and let the emergency services do their work.
"My thoughts are with everyone involved," he said.
Story by: ABC/Wires
Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-14/-big-fireball-after-small-plane-crashes-at-london-airport/105528152
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