Terror on the Tarmac: Fireball Erupts as Jet Crashes Moments After Takeoff at Southend Airport

Panic gripped onlookers at London Southend Airport as a small jet nosedived and exploded into a towering fireball just seconds after takeoff, sending shockwaves across the region and beyond.

The aircraft—a 40-foot Beechcraft B200 bound for the Netherlands—barely reached 175 feet in the air before veering sharply and plummeting to the ground mere yards from the runway. Moments earlier, the pilots had waved cheerfully to families with children who were watching from the terminal.

Witnesses described a gut-wrenching scene. “It banked hard left and just went straight down,” said one father, who had been waving to the crew with his kids. “Then came the explosion—it was surreal.”

Videos flooding social media show a massive plume of black smoke rising above the Essex skies, with startled passengers from nearby planes rushing to safety. One mother watching from a Holiday Inn rooftop said the entire scene “felt like a nightmare.”

The aircraft had taken off at 3:55 p.m.—10 minutes behind schedule—en route to Lelystad in the Netherlands. Data from Flightradar shows the 31-year-old plane, commonly used for medical and mapping missions, climbed briefly before losing speed and crashing. It had already completed two international flights earlier that day.

Emergency responders—including multiple fire crews, ambulances, and Essex Police—rushed to the site. A cordon remains in place, and several EasyJet flights have been canceled as the investigation unfolds. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is leading the probe into what went wrong.

Nearby golf club and sports facilities reported feeling intense heat from the explosion. Some were briefly evacuated as a precaution. Locals say the fireball was visible for miles.

Officials have urged the public to stay clear and report information via special hotlines, while families and witnesses are still reeling from the traumatic experience.

As Essex Police vow a full and transparent investigation, the community remains in shock—grappling with the haunting image of a flight that ended in tragedy just moments after it began.