The pilots of the plane which crashed waved at children shortly before the collision, a witness has said.

John Johnson, who was at the airport with his children and wife, said he saw a “big fireball” after the plane crashed “head first into the ground”.

Mr Johnson, from Billericay, said: “We all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us. The aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its take-off, departure, powered up, rolled down the runway.

“It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed just head first into the ground.

“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it. All the kids saw it and the families saw it.”