Fireball at Southend Airport after small plane crashes

A small plane has crashed at Southend Airport in Essex.

Images posted online showed huge flames and a large cloud of black smoke, with one witness saying they saw a “fireball”.

Essex Police said it responded to “reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane” shortly before 4pm.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” the statement said.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

One man, who was at the airport with his wife and children, told Sky News the plane crashed within seconds of taking off.

John Johnson said the pilots “waved” at his family as they taxied the aircraft.

“We all waved [back] at them,” he continued. “They carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around.

“Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left.”

The aircraft then “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” he said. “There was a large fireball.”

“My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who were on the plane,” Mr Johnson added.

Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.

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Four flights scheduled to take off from Southend this afternoon were cancelled, according to its website.

Flightradar data shows two planes that had been due to land at Southend around the time of the crash were diverted to nearby airports London Gatwick and London Stansted.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.

The East of England Ambulance Service said four ambulances, four hazardous area response team vehicles and an air ambulance had been sent to the incident.

David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, posted on social media: “I 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.”

Local councillor Matt Dent said on X: “At present all I know is that a small plane has crashed at the airport. My thoughts are with all those involved, and with the emergency services currently responding to the incident.”

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