Medical Transport Plane Crash Sends Shockwaves Through Southend Airport
Imagine looking up to see a small aircraft climbing away from Southend Airport, then, without warning, watching it flip upside down and plummet nose-first into the ground—and then a blinding fireball. That’s exactly what witnesses saw just after 3:48 PM on July 14, 2025, as a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air operated by Zeusch Aviation crashed moments after takeoff. The crash killed all four people on board, shattering a routine medical transport into a tragedy that has left many reeling.
The twin-turboprop aircraft, which had just dropped off a patient in the UK after flying in from Croatia, was beginning its flight back to the Netherlands. The plan appeared straightforward, but something went terribly wrong during the climb. Eyewitness John Johnson said the plane "banked sharply left" before pitching nose-down and exploding on impact, turning the routine takeoff into a scene of horror as the wreckage burst into a "huge fireball." Debris scattered across the runway and emergency alarms rang out across the airport.
Among those lost were two experienced Dutch pilots, a 31-year-old Chilean nurse named Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz—widely known as Fena—and a male doctor whose identity had not yet been publicly confirmed. Each member of the medical team had just helped transport a patient to safety, only to lose their own lives on the return journey. Recovery teams found three bodies in the charred remains, and the search continued for the last victim under challenging conditions.
Airport Lockdown and Scramble for Answers
In an instant, Southend Airport shut down all operations. Every flight for the rest of Monday was canceled or rerouted, with passengers scrambling to contact airlines for new arrangements. The terminals quickly emptied as police officers and firefighters moved in, cordoning off the airfield and pleading with the public to stay away. For those trying to travel, the only advice was to monitor airline updates and brace for uncertainty as the airport closure stretched into an indefinite timeline.
Authorities moved fast. Essex Police declared a "serious incident," and emergency services arrived in force—ambulances, fire trucks, and specialized rescue units converged on the scorched crash site. The response was methodical and intense: immediate recovery efforts, support for witnesses and airport staff, and a swift beginning to what is sure to be a complex investigation.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) took charge of the technical analysis, collecting wreckage and flight data to piece together just what happened in those fateful moments after takeoff. Early reports focused on the plane’s unusual inverted position and sharp bank, both rare for a twin-prop on departure. This suggests a sudden and catastrophic malfunction, but investigators are keeping all possibilities open as they sift through the evidence.
Those in the world of medical aviation know that outings like this are both common and critical—doctors, nurses, and pilots work as tight-knit crews to save lives. July 14th was supposed to be another successful mission; instead, it’s a day that will be marked by heartache and searching questions about safety and fate in the skies.
As the airport stays closed and the community waits for answers, the scars—both physical on the airfield and emotional among the staff, families, and witnesses—are already deep. For now, Southend Airport is silent, marked by grief and the relentless work of investigators trying to prevent the next tragedy.