Moments before London plane crash, pilots waved at children
What's the story
A light aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from London Southend Airport on Sunday afternoon. However, the outcome for those on board is currently unknown. The incident occurred around 3:58pm, shortly after the plane took off for Lelystad in the Netherlands. Eyewitness John Johnson recalled a heartwarming moment before the tragedy, saying, "We all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us." "But just a few seconds later, it....went straight down. It crashed headfirst. There was huge fireball."
Incident details
Crash site being treated as serious incident
The plane, believed to be a Beech B200 Super King Air operated by Dutch airline Zeusch Aviation, crashed nose-first into the ground, creating a massive fireball. The plane had flown from Athens to Pula in Croatia before continuing to Southend, with a return to Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands scheduled for that evening. The East of England Ambulance Service dispatched multiple units, including four ambulances and an air ambulance. Essex Police are treating this as a "serious incident."
Twitter Post
Visuals post plane crash
Plane crashes moments after takeoff at 🇬🇧London airport, turns into fireball
— Sumit (@SumitHansd) July 14, 2025
• Aircraft crashed at London Southend Airport Sunday afternoon
• Emergency services including fire and ambulance teams responded
• At least four flights cancelled following the incident pic.twitter.com/kPpo5inB3k
Flight information
Aircraft on medical transport mission
Flight tracking service Flightradar indicates that the plane was a medical transport aircraft. The aircraft, operated by Zeusch Aviation, specializes in medical evacuations and transplant flights and also runs private charters. Zeusch Aviation verified that the crashed plane, flight SUZ1, was one of theirs and stated that it is cooperating with investigators. Following the crash, Southend Airport has been closed until further notice, and all flights have been canceled.