A family watching planes at Southend Airport shared a friendly wave with the pilots of a small aircraft, only to witness the plane crash in a massive fireball just seconds after it took off.
The chilling eyewitness account captured the human tragedy at the heart of a major incident that has shut down the Essex airport and launched a large-scale emergency response.
A Poignant Final Moment
What began as a normal Sunday afternoon for plane-spotters turned into a scene of horror. John Johnson, who was at the airport with his wife and children, described the moments leading up to the crash.
He watched as a twin-engine plane taxied towards the runway, its pilots offering a friendly wave to his family.
“We all waved [back] at them,” Mr. Johnson told Sky News. “They carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around. Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us.”
The aircraft, identified by flight-tracking services as a Beech B200 Super King Air bound for the Netherlands, began its ascent. But something went catastrophically wrong
“The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left,” Mr. Johnson recalled. He said the plane “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” resulting in a “large fireball.”
‘The Airport Was in Lockdown’
The shock of the incident was felt across the airport. Wren Stranix, 16, was sitting in another aircraft on the tarmac, waiting to depart for a family holiday, when the plane came down. From her window, she witnessed the sudden arrival of emergency vehicles.
“The flight attendant didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “They said the plane had exploded and they didn’t know if it was safe or not. The airport was in lockdown.” Passengers on her flight were held on the plane before eventually being allowed back into the terminal, where all remaining flights were later cancelled.
Major Emergency Response and Investigation
Emergency services descended on the scene shortly before 4 pm on Sunday. Essex Police confirmed they were responding to a collision involving a 12-metre plane and asked the public to avoid the area while their work continued for several hours.
The scale of the response highlighted the severity of the incident. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service dispatched four crews and off-road vehicles. The East of England Ambulance Service sent four ambulances, four hazardous area response team vehicles, and an air ambulance to the scene. The investigation into the cause of the crash is now underway.
Airport Closed and Flights Disrupted
In the wake of the “serious incident,” Southend Airport announced it would be closed until further notice. Passengers with flights scheduled for Monday have been urged to contact their airlines directly for the latest information and advice before travelling to the airport.
EasyJet, a primary operator at Southend, confirmed that its remaining flights on Sunday were either cancelled or diverted to other airports. The airline advised customers to check the status of their flights online for the most up-to-date information.
Both the local Member of Parliament and the UK’s Transport Secretary have stated they are monitoring the situation closely as emergency services continue their work at the scene.