Southend Airport shut after plane crashes in ‘fireball’ just after take-off

A plume of black smoke rises from an area near the runway after a small plane crash, as seen from inside a building at London Southend Airport, in Southend, Britain, July 13, 2025 - (X/@agussromagnoli)

• A plane crashed in a "fireball" shortly after taking off from Southend Airport on Sunday afternoon, witnessed by horrified onlookers.
• Essex Police were alerted just before 4pm to the collision involving a 12-metre plane, with emergency services remaining on the scene of the serious incident.
• Witnesses described seeing the aircraft bank heavily to its left, invert, and crash head first into the ground, causing a large fireball.
• As a precaution, Rochford Hundred Golf Club, located near the airport, was evacuated, with a bartender describing feeling a "big heat wave" and seeing a "massive fireball".
• Emergency services, including fire, ambulance, and police, attended the scene, and four flights scheduled from Southend Airport were cancelled following the incident.

IN FULL

Pilots ‘waved to children’ before aircraft ‘crashed head first’ into ground at Southend Airport