Divers have recovered the body of a man from a reservoir in Essex, following the crash of a small private plane into the water over the weekend.
Search and Recovery Operation
The remains of the victim, who has not yet been formally identified, were retrieved from Hanningfield Reservoir on Tuesday. This followed an extensive overnight search operation involving Essex Police, divers, and sonar equipment that continued late into Monday night.
Authorities believe the deceased was the sole occupant of the aircraft. Essex Police stated there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident and a file is being prepared for HM Coroner.
Details of the Flight
The aircraft involved was a three-seater Beagle B121 Pup. It had departed from North Weald Airfield shortly before midday on Sunday, bound for Southend Airport. According to flight data, the plane was airborne for approximately one hour and 23 minutes before it crashed into the reservoir just after 2pm, after taking what was described as an erratic path.
Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan of Essex Police said: "I would firstly like to recognise that someone has lost their life in tragic circumstances. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this incident." He added that formal identification would be undertaken sensitively with the coroner.
Aftermath and Investigations
The police search has now concluded, with the assistance of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). In a tribute to the victim, flowers have been placed around the edge of the site.
The reservoir, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve, will remain closed pending the conclusion of police investigations. Essex and Suffolk Water has assured the public that the incident has not impacted water supplies to customers, with teams managing the reservoir to protect water quality and ecology.
Police are appealing to the public for information. They have asked anyone with relevant CCTV, dash cam footage, or other details related to the incident to contact them online, quoting incident reference 552 of 28 December.
