Small plane crashes at Airport

[Mups]

Another plane crash today.

It seems it was a small plane,  and it crashed just after take-off.

Quote:

A small plane has crashed after take-off at Southend Airport, sending a fireball into the sky.

Essex Police and East of England Ambulance Service are responding to the incident at the airport this afternoon.
The passenger plane is reportedly a Beechcraft King Air B200 that was leaving the airport for Lelystad in the Netherlands.

'In a statement, Essex Police said: "We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.
"We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours. We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues."

Unquote.


I wonder what happened this time?

[Michael Rolls]

As yet, no report of casualties . Here's hoping

[Mups]

Here's some more about this:


https://news.sky.com/story/fireball-at-southend-airport-after-small-plane-crashes-13396214

[klondike]

Light aircraft are way different from commercial jets. This is the 2023 safety record in the UK

In the UK, "light aircraft" typically fall under the broader category of General Aviation (GA)—fixed-wing planes under ~5,700 kg, microlights, gliders, etc. Here's what the latest stats show:


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🛩� Annual Safety Figures for GA/Light Aircraft

In 2023, the UK Civil Aviation Authority reported:

~700,000 flight hours by GA aircraft (60 % of which are fixed‑wing light aircraft)  .

Over 2,000 occurrence reports from GA—about 7.5 % were accidents or serious incidents (~150+), including 170 reportable accidents/serious incidents  .

11 fatal accidents – 7 involved light aircraft, 2 gliders, 1 hot-air balloon  .

10 accidents resulted in 12 serious injuries, and 82 % of accidents didn't involve injuries  .




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🧮 Normalized Accident Rate

For GA overall (not just light aircraft), there are approximately 3–4 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, with around 1 fatal accident per 100,000 hours  .

For UK GA's ~700,000 flying hours, that equates to roughly 20–28 accidents annually, with 7 fatalities or serious outcomes.



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📝 Older Government Estimates

A 2001 Hansard record cites an average of 190 accidents per year for helicopters and light aircraft (under 2,370 kg), with fewer than 8% fatal, and ~2 fatalities per fatal accident  .

This aligns with current broader GA data but includes helicopters too.




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📊 Summary for Light Aircraft Only

Metric Approximate Annual Figure

Flight hours (light aircraft, subset) ~420,000 hours
Reportable accidents/serious incidents ~120–130
Fatal accidents ~7
Serious-injury accidents ~10
Non-injury accidents ~90


Expect 100–150 accidents/incidents per year, with around 7–10 being fatal and another ~10 causing serious injuries.

Most accidents (~80%) are non-injury, often related to hard landings or loss of control  .



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🔑 Key Takeaways

1. Light aircraft accidents are a major portion of GA reports—~120 reportable accidents annually.


2. Fatalities in light aircraft hover around 7 per year.


3. 12 serious injuries are also typical each year.


4. Loss of control near the ground and hard landings are leading causes  .




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✅ Final Answer

For UK light aircraft each year, you can expect:

100–150 reportable accidents

≈7 fatal accidents (resulting in ~7–11 deaths)

≈10 serious-injury accidents

The vast majority (~80%) involve no injuries


Let me know if you'd like breakdowns by aircraft type, causes, or comparisons with other countries!

[Ashy]

No news of casualties but I doubt if anyone can survive a crash like that. It's suggested that the aeroplane became unstable and crashed immediately. All flights are cancelled at present. I assume this is because the airport fire service is not available because there is no damage to the airport.

[Ashy]

They are now saying four people have died.

AAIB has sent a team to investigate.

[Michael Rolls]

TBH, looking at the pictures,  survival must surely have been impossible

[klondike]

You'd have said that about the recent crash in India but amazingly one did. Lot more stuff to crumple and slow your deceleration in a wide body jey than in a light aircraft.

[Ashy]

As far as we know there were no survivors. Two pilots and two passengers perished.

A Chilean nurse (named), a German citizen. and two Dutch pilots.