Four foreign nationals die in Southend Airport plane crash
It is also understood that the plane had dropped off a patient at Southend and was due to return to its base in the Netherlands.
Witnesses told of seeing a 'fireball', while images of fire and black smoke were shared on social media.
The Chilean nurse was on her first day on the job, according to reports, which named her as Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz, 31.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise 7,500 euros for her family.
In a statement at the airport on Monday, Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: 'Yesterday afternoon, an aircraft which had landed here earlier in the day took off bound for the Netherlands.
'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 airport will stay closed until further notice.
Its chief executive Jude Winstanley said: 'Our staff are working closely with the emergency services and air accident investigators to support their work. I would like to thank them for all of their hard work during this period.'
Lisa Fitzsimons of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said 'it is too early to speculate' on what may have caused the crash.
Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the four people killed in the plane crash.
In a message on X the Prime Minister said: 'Terrible news that four people tragically lost their lives in yesterday's plane crash at Southend Airport. My thoughts are with their families and loved ones.
'I also want to thank all the emergency responders who attended the scene.'
John Johnson, who was at the airport with his children and wife on Sunday, said they saw a 'big fireball' after the plane crashed 'head first into the ground'.
Mr Johnson, from Billericay, Essex, told PA that before the plane took off, 'we all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us'.
He added: 'It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed just head first into the ground.
'There was a big fireball.
'I'd say that we're pretty shaken up. I just feel sad for the people who were on the plane and, of course, their loved ones and their family, our thoughts are with them.'
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Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tragic connection between doomed jets: How Air India, MH370 and Germanwings disasters all sparked fears their captains suffered mental health issues - as experts warn not enough is done to help pilots
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They must have given the clearance certificate.' If pilots develop a mental health condition in between the exams and do not disclose it, they can be stopped from flying. This, experts say, means many conceal their health information or avoid mental health checks out of fear of being put out of work. A 2022 study found that 56.1 per cent of the 3,765 US pilots who participated in the survey reported a 'history of healthcare avoidance behaviour' due to the risk of losing their licence. After the Germanwings crash, a US panel warned that there was 'no convincing evidence' that screening for suicidal tendencies would prevent similar disasters. Another possible way to mitigate the risk of a suicidal pilot taking control of the plane away from their co-pilot was to change door designs, preventing them from being locked. The 2013 crash of a Mozambican airliner in Namibia saw pilot Hermino dos Santos Fernandes himself in the cockpit, preventing his co-pilot from entering as he made a 'deliberate series of manoeuvres' causing the crash, investigators said. But authorities have warned against changing the design of doors, saying sophisticated locks are needed to prevent cockpit invasions and hijackings. Pilot suicide was among the countless theories floated in relation to the disappearance of Flight MH370 in 2014. The Malaysia Airlines jet was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board when it vanished and became one of the greatest mysteries in aviation. No sign of the plane was found in a 46,000-square mile Indian Ocean search zone and the Australian-led search, the largest in history, was suspended in January 2017. In 2020, former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott claimed that top Malaysian officials believed the aircraft vanished after veteran pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah intentionally crashed it. 'My very clear understanding from the very top levels of the Malaysian government is that from very, very early on here, they thought it was murder-suicide by the pilot,' he told Sky News. 'I'm not going to say who said what to whom but let me reiterate, I want to be absolutely crystal clear, it was understood at the highest levels that this was almost certainly murder-suicide by the pilot - mass murder-suicide by the pilot.' Zaharie's family have long strongly rejected such claims as baseless, while Malaysia's prime minister at the time of the tragedy also said there was 'no conclusive proof'. Captain Dave Fielding, chair of the International Peer Assist Aviation Coalition (IPAAC), has long campaigned for the improved monitoring of mental health among all aviation workers - from pilots to cabin crew and engineers. 'Big picture-wise, pilot mental health and performance is the new front on flight safety, and is where we should be focusing our efforts,' he said in an interview with the British Safety Council last September. The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) last year published a paper on the challenges mental health issues, and the lack of support available for them, continue to pose to the aviation industry globally. Publishing the report, RAeS chief executive David Edwards said: 'Whilst the industry is doing more to support staff who are already facing mental health issues, there remains a lack of psychosocial risk management systems to prevent the development of mental health issues in the first place.' While the report has generated a significant response from around the world, industry experts agree that there is still work to be done to encourage airline pilots and other aviation professionals to come forward with mental health concerns. 'There has been much good work done across the world in this area,' Captain Fielding told MailOnline. 'But it is in its infancy and a lot more needs to be done.' IPAAC, which he chairs, is a not-for-profit which develops peer support programmes to help 'provide a vital method for safety-critical personnel in aviation to seek help for mental health and wellbeing issues.' In a statement to MailOnline, the organisation said: 'The mental health and wellbeing of all safety-critical personnel in aviation is a safety issue. 'The role of Peer Support Programmes is more critical than ever in assisting our colleagues when they need support from a friendly and confidential co-worker, trained to give specific assistance.' For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to
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Scotsman
14 hours ago
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Police Scotland Ayrshire said: 'Around 9.30pm on Monday, 14 July, 2025, we received a report of a fire at a premises on Sandbed Street, which spread to other premises. There are no reported injuries a
Drone footage shows a large fire in a Scottish town centre, where emergency services are in attendance. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Aerial footage shows a large fire in Kilmarnock. Emergency services were alerted to the fire at around 21:30 on June 14. Police Scotland Ayrshire ask members of the public to avoid the area Police Scotland Ayrshire said: 'A number of road closures remain in place following a fire in Kilmarnock. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Around 9.30pm on Monday, 14 July, 2025, we received a report of a fire at a premises on Sandbed Street, which spread to other premises. 'There are no reported injuries and emergency services remain in attendance. 'King Street is closed up to its junction with St Marnock Street and Sandbed Lane remains closed. A number of surrounding roads leading to King Street and Sandbed Lane were closed but have since reopened. Firefighters working to extinguish the fire in Kilmarnock. 'Nearby business premises have been impacted and will remain closed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Members of the public are asked to avoid the area at this time, and nearby residents are asked to keep windows closed. 'Enquiries are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire.' East Ayrshire Council say 'Shops and businesses in the street [King Street] will be unable to open as emergency services require access since the fire is still burning' East Ayrshire Council said: 'King Street Kilmarnock will remain closed today following a fire last night. Shops and businesses in the street will be unable to open as emergency services require access since the fire is still burning. Surrounding roads have reopened.' Tattoo shop owner says he's lost everything in the fire A number of businesses have reportedly been destroyed in the fire, including the Hard Luck Tattoo shop. Owner Niky Brown says he has lost everything in the fire and has set up a GoFundMe page. Lillian Jones MP thanks the emergency services for their 'swift response and dedication throughout the night' Lillian Jones MP said: 'My thoughts are with everyone affected by the serious fire on King Street in Kilmarnock last night. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I'm incredibly grateful to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland for their swift response and dedication throughout the night. Emergency services remain on site, and investigations are ongoing.
BBC News
19 hours ago
- BBC News
As theories swirl about Air India crash, key details remains unknown
While the preliminary report into what caused the loss of Air India Flight 171 last month has provided some answers, it has also prompted a wave of speculation about its cause. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a building less than a minute after take-off from the city of Ahmedabad in western Indian en route to London, killing 241 people on board, along with 19 on the ground. One passenger contained in India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau report, the first official account of what happened, has raised questions about the role of the experts within the aviation industry claim investigators have been highly selective in what they have chosen to say. What the report says Under international protocols, the state leading an air accident investigation is meant to issue a preliminary report within 30 days. The 15-page document published by India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday fulfils this the AAIB has been leading the investigation, US interests are also represented, because Boeing, the maker of the aircraft, and GE Aerospace, the engine manufacturer are report does not set out any conclusions as to the cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it has sparked considerable its account of the accident flight, the AAIB states that two fuel cut-off switches were moved from the 'run' to the 'cut-off' position seconds after take-off. This deprived the engines of fuel and caused them to lose thrust. Although data from the flight recorder shows the engines were subsequently restarted, it was too late to prevent the switches are normally only used to turn the engines on before a flight and off afterwards. They have a locking mechanism, which means they need to be pulled out before being flipped, a system designed to prevent accidental report also states that one pilot asks the other "why did he cutoff", while his colleague "responded that he did not do so". However, it does not provide any direct transcript of the conversation, which would have been picked up by the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). Nor does it identify which pilot asked the is worth remembering that preliminary reports are not intended to offer a full picture of what happened or draw firm conclusions. They are meant to be a factual summary of the information obtained in the early stages of what could be a lengthy investigation. The investigating authority is also under no obligation to make their preliminary reports public. Missing information The information released so far has prompted a number of commentators to claim, in the media and online, that the accident was the result of deliberate and intentional action by one of the is a view that has attracted an angry response from the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association, which warned that "invoking such a serious allegation based on incomplete or preliminary information is not only irresponsible – it is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved".Don't vilify Air India crash crew: Indian pilots' associationIt added that "to casually suggest pilot suicide in the absence of verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting".In a memo to staff, the chief executive of Air India struck a similar note. Campbell Wilson warned against drawing "premature conclusions".Since the report was issued, the BBC has spoken to a range of people within the industry, including pilots, accident investigators and engineers. While theories as to what actually happened vary widely, the dominant view is that important information is currently missing."They've told us stuff they want us to know at the moment, and withheld what they don't want us to know," explained one pilot, who asked not to be identified. "It's not a complete report."One of the main criticisms is the lack of a transcript from the cockpit voice recorder, which would enable the reported conversation between the pilots about the fuel cut-off switches to be put in Fehrm, an aeronautical analyst at consultants Leeham News said this was "totally unacceptable"."They have all this technical detail. Then you have this reference to dialogue, but it doesn't even tell you who's speaking," he Fehrm was also concerned that there was no reference to what happened in the cockpit between the switches being flipped from run to cut-off, and the first switch being pushed back into position to relight the first engine 10 seconds later."It's someone trying to hide something," he said. An engineering source, meanwhile, said the report was "very selective", and did not have any detailed information about what the engines were doing immediately before the switches were flipped. The document does say that the engine speed began to decrease from take-off values "as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off."This, they said was important - because flipping the switches to cut-off and back was something a pilot would be trained do to in order to restart an engine that was already losing Atkinson, an aviation consultant and former air accident investigator in the UK said, "it is very disappointing to read a report which does provide a few salient facts, leaves many more questions".Another element of the report that has caused controversy is a reference to a safety bulletin – known as a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin – published by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in was used to alert the aviation community that operators of some Boeing 737 models had reported cases in which the fuel cut-off switches had been fitted with the locking feature disengaged - potentially enabling the switch to be flipped by the time, the FAA described this as an "airworthiness concern", but said it was "not an unsafe condition" that would require mandatory action via what is known as an Airworthiness Directive. Operators of a number of different Boeing models fitted with similar switches, including 787s, were advised to carry out simple investigation report says Air India did not carry out those inspections - prompting speculation that the accident could have been caused by faulty switches being flipped by in an internal note seen by the BBC, the FAA has since reiterated its belief that the issue did not compromise sources have also pointed out that the report says the throttle control model on the crashed aircraft was replaced on two occasions, most recently two years before the accident. This would have involved replacing the cut-off switches as to Bjorn Fehrm of Leeham News, the reference to the FAA's advice contained in the report was "totally irrelevant" in the context of the India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked the operators of all aircraft covered by the FAA's original bulletin to carry out inspections by 21 former accident investigator Tim Atkinson, the vagueness of the report may have been deliberate - in order to suggest an explanation for the crash, while avoiding being too explicit."The very worst reports are those written to be read 'between the lines', and if that is what we have here, then it does no credit to the investigators," he those seeking firm answers to what happened on Flight 171 may well have to wait. International protocols stipulate that a final report should be published within a year of the accident. However, in practice, it can take a lot longer than that.
