Pilots killed in Southend Airport crash are named

The two Dutch pilots killed in the Southend airport plane crash that killed four people have been named.

Captain Danny Marco Franken and First Officer Floris Christiaan Rhee were ‘both highly respected and cherished colleagues’, Zeusch Aviation said.

They were flying a small Beechcraft B200 medical aircraft carrying newly hired nurse Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz, 31, Dr Matthias Eyl, 46, when it nosedived into a fiery explosion on July 13.

Marco Rietvelt, managing director of Zeusch Aviation: ‘Danny and Floris were not only highly skilled pilots, but also greatly valued and popular members of our team.

‘Their passion for flying was matched by their dedication to their colleagues and the important missions they carried out. We are all deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic loss.’

A police investigation is ongoing.

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