It was a calm Sunday evening in Essex when a small aircraft lifted off from London Southend Airport. The sun had already dipped low in the sky, casting long shadows on the runway as the Beechcraft B200 Super King Air began its ascent. Moments later, that ordinary departure turned into an unspeakable tragedy.

Four people aboard the aircraft lost their lives when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff and burst into flames, authorities confirmed on Monday.

While the investigation is ongoing, what we know so far paints the picture of a flight that was almost home—but never made it.

A Routine Journey With an Unimaginable End

From Greece to Croatia to the UK

The twin-engine turboprop plane, operated by Dutch firm Zeusch Aviation, had completed two earlier legs of its journey: first from Athens, Greece, then onward to Pula, Croatia. From there, it traveled to London Southend Airport, arriving without incident. Its final planned route was to Lelystad, the Netherlands, the airline’s home base. Continues…