LONDON (AP) – All four people aboard a small plane that crashed shortly after taking off from London Southend Airport are dead, police said Monday.
Essex Police said work continued to formally identify the victims of Sunday’s crash. “At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals,” Police Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
Britain´s national news agency, PA, reported that a document listing passengers indicated that two Dutch pilots and a Chilean nurse were among those aboard.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air operated by Dutch firm Zeusch Aviation had flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula in Croatia before heading to Southend. It was due to return to its home base of Lelystad in the Netherlands on Sunday evening.
The 12-meter (39-foot) turboprop plane came down moments after takeoff and burst into flames.
“At this stage, it is too early to speculate on what may have caused this tragic accident,” said Lisa Fitzsimons of Britain´s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which said it sent a “multi-disciplinary team including inspectors with expertise in aircraft operations, human factors, engineering and recorded data” to the airport.
London Southend is a relatively small airport, around 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of the British capital, used for short-haul flights. The airport remained closed on Monday with no word on when it would reopen.
Zeusch Aviation operates medical evacuation and transplant flights as well as aerial mapping and private charters, according to its website. The company said that “our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims, their families, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, first built in the 1970s, is an aviation workhorse used in a wide variety of roles around the world.
In 2017, a plane of the same model crashed into the roof of a shopping mall in Melbourne, Australia, moments after takeoff, killing the pilot and four American tourists.
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