![]() PH-ZAZ, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in June 2025 | |
Accident | |
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Date | 13 July 2025 |
Summary | Crashed shortly after takeoff; under investigation |
Site | London Southend Airport, Essex, United Kingdom 51°34′31″N0°41′51″E / 51.575349°N 0.697396°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Beechcraft Super King Air |
Operator | Zeusch Aviation |
ICAO flight No. | SUZ1 |
Registration | PH-ZAZ |
Flight origin | London Southend Airport, Essex, United Kingdom |
Destination | Lelystad Airport, Netherlands |
Occupants | 4 |
Passengers | 2 |
Crew | 2 |
Fatalities | 4 |
Survivors | 0 |
On 13 July 2025, Zeusch Aviation Flight 1, a Beechcraft Super King Air operated by Dutch company Zeusch Aviation, crashed shortly after takeoff from London Southend Airport in Essex, United Kingdom. All four occupants on board the aircraft died, and the circumstances are under investigation.
The Beechcraft Super King Air was manufactured in 1994 with the serial number BB-1478. [1] It had the registration PH-ZAZ and was operated by Dutch company Zeusch Aviation. [2] It flew in to Southend on 13 July, with ADS-B data showing it landed at 14:51 BST (UTC+01:00). [3] It had flown an ambulance flight from Athens, with a 90-minute layover at Pula in Croatia. [3] [4] [1] It was operating under the flight number SUZ1. [5]
At 15:57 on 13 July 2025, the aircraft was departing runway 05 at London Southend Airport for Lelystad Airport when it crashed during its initial climb. [4] [1] Witnesses reported it rolled or banked to its left, entered an uncontrolled descent, and crashed near the runway within the airport's perimeter. [4] [1] Photos and videos show a fireball and a plume of black smoke. [4] [6] Police evacuated the Rochford Hundred Golf Club and Westcliff Rugby Club as a precaution due to the proximity of the crash. [7]
All four occupants of the aircraft died in the crash. [8] The victims were identified as two Dutch pilots, 46-year-old German doctor Matthias Eyl and 31-year-old Chilean nurse Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz. [9] [10] Searches for the bodies of all occupants ended on July 16 when the final body was recovered. [11]
The Essex & Herts Air Ambulance attended the scene. [12] Flights to and from Southend were cancelled or used Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted instead. [12] [13] The Civil Aviation Authority enforced an air exclusion zone around the crash site. [14]
London Southend Airport partially reopened on the evening of 16 July, with normal operations resuming on the morning of 17 July. [15]
Essex Police and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), along with the Royal Air Force and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, are investigating the crash. [4] [14] The AAIB sent a team of inspectors to the crash site to gather evidence. [16]