All four people aboard a small plane that crashed shortly after taking of
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f from London Southend Airport are dead, police said Monday.
Essex Police said work continued to formally identify the victims of Sunday's crash. “At this stage, we believe all
four are foreign countries,” Police Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
Britain’s national news agency, PA, reported that a document listing pass
engers indicated that two Dutch pilots and a Chilean nurse were among those aboard.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air operated by Dutch firm Zeusch Aviation had flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula
in Croatia before heading to Southend. It was due to return to its home base of Lelystad in the Netherlands on Sunday evening.
The 12-meter (39-foot) turboprop plane came down moments after takeoff and burst into flames.
“At this stage, it is too early to speculate on what may have caused this tragic accident,” said Lisa Fitzsimons of Britain’
s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which said it sent a “multi-disciplinary team including inspectors with experti
se in aircraft operations, human factors, engineering and recorded data” to the airport.
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London Southend is a relatively small airport, around 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of the British capital, us
ed for short-haul flights. The airport remains closed on Monday with no word on when it will reopen.
Zeusch Aviation operates medical evacuation and transplant flights as well as aerial mapping and private charters, ac
cording to its website. The company said that “our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims, their families, an
d ones loved during this incredibly difficult time.”
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, first built in the 1970s, is an aviation workhorse used in a wide variety of roles around the world.
In 2017, a plane of the same model crashed into the roof of a shopping mall in Melbourne, Australia, moments
after takeoff, killing the pilot and four American tourists.
Photograph: Passengers outside the terminal building at Southend Airport in Essex, where a 12-metre plane crashed
shortly after take off on Sunday afternoon, Monday July 14, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)