Pilots ‘waved to children before crashing into fireball’ at Southend Airport, says witness

Essex Police said it was at the scene of a "serious incident" as images posted on social media show a large cloud of black smoke.

Witnesses told local media they saw a "huge fireball" as the plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday afternoon.

The aircraft was reportedly a small Beech B200 aircraft, scheduled to fly to Lelystad in the Netherlands.

John Johnson, who was at Southend Airport with his family at the time of the crash, said he saw a “big fireball” after the plane “crashed head first into the ground”.

Mr Johnson, from Billericay, told the PA news agency: “We all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us.

“The aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its take-off, departure, powered up, rolled down the runway.

“It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed just head first into the ground."

A bartender at Rochford Hundred Golf Club, which is next door to Southend Airport, said he felt a “big heat wave” before looking up to a “massive fireball” in the sky.

The airport announced it is closed until further notice, with all flights to and from it cancelled.

Passengers due to travel on Monday via the airport are advised to contact their airline.

Southend Airport said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by today’s events and all passengers impacted by this disruption.

“We will restart flight operations as soon as possible and will continue to update the public on developments.”

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A witness told Metro she was watching the plane take off from a viewing deck at the Holiday Inn.

"It was honestly a surreal experience", the mother said.

"The plane took off, then around 50 meters it sort of kicked to the left, then around 100 meters it abruptly banked to the left.

"With that, it basically descended down headfirst and just burst into flames as it hit the ground. We can’t believe what we have seen.

"It didn’t look like there was time to bail out. Luckily, I think my daughter is too young to know what really happened. I feel for the other kids who were there and witnessed it too."

As a precaution because of their proximity to the incident, police said they are evacuating the Rochford Hundred Golf Club and Westcliff Rugby Club.

According to the airport’s website, four flights scheduled to take off on Sunday afternoon have been cancelled.

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust said they sent 4 ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, 4 Hazardous Area Response Team vehicles, 3 senior paramedic cars and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance to Southend Airport.

A police statement said: "We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.

"We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.

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

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."

This is a breaking news story.