Four dead after small plane crashes seconds after takeoff in London
A small 12 meter plane crashed seconds after takeoff from London Southend Airport on Sunday.
Authorities confirmed that all four people aboard the plane have died.
Essex Police Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said they are continuing the process of identifying the victims, two pilots and two passengers. Police reported that none of the victims are British, and all appear to be foreign nationals.
The plane involved, flight SUZ1, is operated by Zeusch Aviation in the Netherlands. The company expressed deep condolences to the victims, their families, and loved ones. Zeusch Aviation specializes in services to medical organizations, the military, government, and broadcasting companies.
The United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which focuses on civil aircraft accidents, has begun investigating the incident, along with the Royal Air Force, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, and London Southend Airport.
Senior Inspector Lisa Fitzsimons of AAIB said it was too early to predict what caused the accident. Inspectors of aircraft operations, human factors, engineering, and recorded data from AAIB are working at the site to determine the cause.
The London airport, 72 kilometers east of the capital, is closing all flights until further notice. London Southend Airport averages seven departure flights each day.
The flight had previously flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula, Croatia, before being scheduled to return to the Netherlands from London.
John Johnson from Essex witnessed the crash. He described the plane as banking heavily to its left three or four seconds after takeoff. Then the aircraft turned, hit the ground, and exploded into a huge fireball.
Flight SUZ1 was a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air. The Super King Air has been in operation since 1974. A plane of the same model crashed in 2017 shortly after departing an airport in Australia. Four American passengers and the Australian pilot died in that crash.
