6 days ago
Doomed Southend Airport plane's final moments before it exploded
The haunting final moments of the doomed Southend Airport plane show it speeding up the runway before tragically exploding into a fireball just minutes later. All onboard the Zeusch Aviation Flight SUZ1 died after it crashed at the airport near London at around 4pm on Sunday.
The international airport, near Southend–on–Sea in Essex, has since been forced to cancel all flights and close 'until further notice '. The 12–metre plane operated by the Dutch company Zeusch Aviation is owned by IT millionaire Con Zwinkels, who also piloted a Boeing 747 for Martinair, according to Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf.
And the newly released footage shows the aircraft's final moments before the flight, headed for the Netherlands, descended into tragedy. All onboard the Zeusch Aviation Flight SUZ1 died after it crashed at the airport near London at around 4pm on Sunday. Essex Police chief superintendent Morgan Cronin yesterday confirmed that all four people who died onboard the plane were foreign nationals.
Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz (pictured), a German citizen but born in Chile, was named as one of the foreign nationals who died when the jet 'corkscrewed' and burst into a ball of flames . It was yesterday revealed 31-year-old Ms Ortiz had worked as a nurse before but was on her first shift as a flight nurse, the BBC reported. Her friends, who called her Feña, have described her as the 'kindest soul' who 'didn't have a single bad bone in her body'. They added that 'she was humble and chose a profession that reflected that'. The nurse had also reportedly married her partner last year, leaving her newly wed wife devastated.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to all four people killed saying his 'thoughts are with their families and loved ones'. '[On Sunday] afternoon, an aircraft which had landed here earlier in the day took off bound for the Netherlands,' Chief superintendent Morgan Cronin told a press conference this afternoon. 'Shortly after take-off, it got into difficulty and crashed within the airport boundary. Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died. 'We are working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals.'
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has launched an investigation into what caused the Beech B200 Super King Air to suddenly plummet to the ground seconds after take-off. Chief superintendent Morgan Cronin continued: 'Our detectives and forensic teams are working in parallel with air accident investigators, the Royal Air Force, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and London Southend Airport to build an accurate picture of what happened. 'To aid our investigation, the Civil Aviation Authority has put in place a significant air exclusion zone surrounding the crash site. We're also speaking with dozens of witnesses, some of whom have already provided video footage, and we'd like to thank them for their help. I know this would be an extremely distressing scene for them. I know there will be a lot of questions about what happened here [on Sunday]. We are doing all we can to establish the facts and get those answers.'
Lisa Fitzsimons of the AAIB said at this stage 'it is too early to speculate' on what may have caused the plane crash. She said: 'Our focus is on gathering the physical evidence from the accident site and interviewing witnesses. 'The remains of the aircraft will then be recovered to our facility in Farnborough, Hampshire, for further detailed investigation.'
Footage on social media shows a plume of fire and black smoke billowing into the air from the crash site, while witnesses described seeing the medical jet 'corkscrew' before erupting into a ball of flames. Ben Guppy, 34, who had taken his 15–month–old daughter to the fifth floor of a nearby Holiday Inn hotel to watch the planes take off and land, told MailOnline he saw the plane reach 'probably 50 metres off the runway' before it began tilting left. Describing the moment of impact, the wholesale director explained: 'My daughter was pointing at it and then it lifted to the left. The left wing came down, the ring wing came up. I thought 'He's keen to go left as soon as he takes off.'
He added: 'He's banking hard left and then the next thing you know, it's like another handbrake turn. He went left so violently and I thought 'What is he doing?' He was only about 100 metres up by this point. And then he corkscrewed upside down into the floor, the plane was only in the air for seconds. I looked at it and the fireball went up, there was fire and smoke everywhere. Luckily my daughter was facing the other way.' A plane 'corkscrewing' refers to the moment an aircraft rapidly spirals to towards the ground.
The frantic moment a group of golfers, playing at the nearby Rochford Hundred Golf Club, rushed to the burning wreckage was also caught on camera. Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in The Netherlands, confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been 'involved in an accident' at Southend Airport. The statement said the company was 'actively supporting the authorities with the investigation', adding: 'Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected.' Zeusch Aviation's website says the plane can be used for medical flights to transport patients or organs. It has also been deployed for aerial mapping flights. The plane had flown from the Greek capital Athens to Pula in Croatia on Sunday before heading to Southend. It was scheduled to return to Lelystad on Sunday night. London Southend Airport will remain 'closed until further notice' after a plane crashed shortly after taking off on Sunday, the airport's chief executive Jude Winstanley said.
