At around 3 p.m. on Sunday, a Beech B200 Super King Air aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Southend Airport. Minutes into the flight, it veered to the left, lost control, crashed into a grassy area, and caught fire.
All four people on board were killed. Two of them were pilots, while the other two were passengers. According to the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, the crash may have been caused by a loss of power in the left engine.
Emergency response teams from Southend, Rayleigh Weir, and Basildon arrived quickly. Off-road units from Billericay and Chelmsford also assisted. An air ambulance service was deployed to the scene.
At 3 p.m. today, Essex Police and airport officials are expected to hold a press conference. They will likely reveal the identities of the victims and more details about the crash.
The aircraft is a multi-purpose model, commonly used for medical transport, lab material delivery, and aerial mapping. Several similar crashes have been reported in the past decade.
