{"id":263799,"date":"2025-07-14T08:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/263799\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T08:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:54:10","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-b200-aircraft-crash-at-southend-airport-firstpost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/263799\/","title":{"rendered":"What we know about the B200 aircraft crash at Southend Airport \u2013 Firstpost"},"content":{"rendered":"

A small plane crashed at London Southend Airport on Sunday (July 13) shortly after take-off. Visuals showed black smoke billowing from the Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft after the mishap.<\/p>\n

London Southend Airport confirmed a \u201cserious incident\u201d involving a general aviation aircraft. Witnesses have reported seeing a \u201chuge fireball\u201d emerging from the crash site.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/p>\n

A 12-metre plane with two pilots onboard crashed at London Southend Airport. Emergency services, including the police, fire service and ambulance service, rushed to the site.<\/p>\n

Essex Police said they were \u201calerted\u201d about \u201creports of a collision\u201d involving the small Beech B200 aircraft at the site in Southend-on-Sea shortly before 8.30 pm IST.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are working with all emergency services at the scene now, and that work will be ongoing for several hours. We would like to ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n

As per the flight-tracking service Flightradar, the aircraft took off from Southend Airport at 8:18\u202fpm IST and was headed to Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Sunday, the plane flew from Athens to the Pula airport in Croatia, before making the three-hour flight to London Southend, reported Independent.<\/p>\n

After the crash, London Southend Airport closed operations until further notice. It said it will inform the public of any updates and those set to travel on Monday should contact their airline.<\/p>\n

As per the airport\u2019s website, five international flights had been cancelled after the accident.<\/p>\n

Dutch company Zeusch Aviation confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been \u201cinvolved in an accident\u201d at London Southend Airport. The company said they were \u201cactively\u201d supporting authorities with the investigation, adding: \u201cOur thoughts are with everyone who has been affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides the two pilots, it remains unclear how many people were on the plane. The cause of the crash is also not known yet.<\/p>\n

David Burton-Sampson, MP for Southend West & Leigh, wrote on X: \u201cI am aware of an incident at Southend Airport. Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work. My thoughts are with everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

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United Kingdom<\/a> Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: \u201cI\u2019m aware of the tragic incident at Southend Airport this afternoon. My thoughts are with all those involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe emergency services are on scene and are advising the public to avoid the area where possible. I am monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m aware of the tragic incident at Southend Airport this afternoon. My thoughts are with all those involved.<\/p>\n

The emergency services are on scene and are advising the public to avoid the area where possible.<\/p>\n

I am monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Heidi Alexander MP (@Heidi_Labour) July 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Witnesses describe London plane crash<\/p>\n

Witnesses told British media that the plane crashed \u201chead first into the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n

John Johnson, who was watching planes with his wife and children at the airport, told BBC he saw a \u201chuge fireball\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou could see [the pilots] smiling and we all kind of smiled back, the aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its take off point, powered up its engines and powered past us, carrying on down the runway,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took off in probably three or four seconds. It started to bank heavily to its left. I said to my wife, that\u2019s unusual. We don\u2019t find aircraft normally turning at that stage in their ascent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a few seconds of that, the aircraft almost inverted and hit the ground. There was a huge fireball.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Johnson, the airport\u2019s fire service responded immediately after the crash, with two fire engines reaching the spot.<\/p>\n

They were followed by local police, ambulance and fire services.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Metro, a woman said she was watching planes departing with her daughter from a viewing deck at the Holiday Inn on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was honestly a surreal experience. The plane took off, then around 50 meters it sort of kicked to the left, then around 100 meters it abruptly banked to the left. With that, it basically descended down headfirst and just burst into flames as it hit the ground. We can\u2019t believe what we have seen.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt didn\u2019t look like there was time to bail out. Luckily, I think my daughter is too young to know what really happened. I feel for the other kids who were there and witnessed it too. It felt like we were in a bad dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Philpott, a bartender at the golf club next to the airport, told BBC that he felt \u201ca big heatwave\u201d before looking up to a \u201cmassive fireball\u201d in the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was just quite shocked\u2026 we haven\u2019t seen anything like this. People were sort of running towards it to see if anyone was injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What we know about the crashed plane<\/p>\n

The plane involved in the crash at Southend Airport was reportedly a Beech B200 Super King Air, a US-built aircraft with a jet turbine, according to flight tracking data.<\/p>\n

It is a small plane capable of carrying more than 20 people for short-haul charter flights.<\/p>\n

The aircraft was a medical transport jet equipped with medical systems for transporting patients, reported The Mirror.<\/p>\n

However, as per the Independent report, the ill-fated plane was a luxury private aeroplane with eight seats and a comfortable leather interior.<\/p>\n

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According to BBC correspondent Tom Symonds: \u201cThis sort of aircraft is a bit like a Land Rover of the skies. It\u2019s a bit like an all-purpose vehicle and we can see that it has been rented out for roles including medical evacuation, moving transplant material, aerial mapping, that sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zeusch Aviation, which operated the plane, specialises in medical evacuation services and transplant flights as well as private charters.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Essex Police said it was working with the Air Accident Investigation Branch. Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: \u201cIn these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.\u201d<\/p>\n

With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n