Airport remains shut down following fireball plane crash

London Southend Airport remains closed following a fatal plane crash on Sunday, confirmed by chief executive Jude Winstanley. The incident occurred just before 16:00 BST, when Essex Police were alerted to a 12-metre aircraft on fire.

Dutch aviation company Zeusch Aviation confirmed its SUZ1 flight was “involved in an accident” and

is cooperating with authorities. The plane had departed Athens, stopped in Pula, Croatia, and landed in Southend before it was scheduled to return to Lelystad, Netherlands.

Eyewitness John Johnson from Billericay described the aircraft taking off and suddenly banking heavily to the left before crashing. “Within a few seconds, the aircraft almost inverted and hit the ground. There was a huge fireball,” he told the BBC.