Pilots waved at children: Family watched Beech B200 Super King Air burst into flames at London's Southend Airport

The crash at London's Southend Airport has shocked many at the airport, waiting to board their flight. Many saw the Beech B200 Super King Air flight burst into flames as they were waiting for takeoff. A family present at the location said the pilots waved at them as they were taxiing. Talking to news outlet Sky News, John Johnson said, “We all waved back at them as they carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around. Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left."

He continued, “It almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed," he said. "There was a large fireball.”

Wren Stranix, who was in another plane waiting to take off with her family and boyfriend, said she saw the aircraft come down. From their flight, they saw emergency services rush to the accident site.
"The flight attendant didn't know what was going on. They said the plane had exploded and they didn't know if it was safe or not. The airport was in lockdown,” she said

What happened?

On Sunday (July 14), a small aircraft at London’s Southend Airport crashed and burst into flames right moments after takeoff. It was a Netherlands-bound plane which was engulfed in thick smoke and prompting an emergency response by the fire department. The incident involved the plane Beech B200 Super King Air, and details on casualties are yet to be ascertained.

The Essex Police Dept was alerted just before 4 PM (local time) about a crash. In the statement, they said, “We are working with all emergency services at the scene now, and that work will be ongoing for several hours. We would ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

"We ask that any passengers due to travel via London Southend Airport contact their airline for information and advice," it added.