Hanningfield: Aircraft incident

Essex Police can now confirm the name of the man whose body was recovered following an plane crash in Essex.

A post-mortem took place on Wednesday 7 January, and we can now confirm that the body belonged to Mr Peter Beeson, 66, of Bishop’s Stortford.

We believe Mr Beeson was the sole occupant of the private aircraft, a Beagle B121 Pup, which had departed North Weald Airfield just before 12pm on Sunday 28 December 2025 before it crashed in the reservoir at Hanningfield at around 2pm.

Detective Inspector Lydia George, who leads the Essex Police investigation said:

Our thoughts remain with family and friends, and I offer my condolences.
At the end of last year, we were involved in an extensive search alongside our emergency services partners, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and other specialists following notification of a plane crash near Chelmsford.
Sadly, that search resulted in divers from the Metropolitan Police Service recovering the body of Mr Beeson.
I’d like to thank all our partners who assisted in the search and recovery and specialists from across multiple agencies, including Essex and Suffolk Water.

The investigation continues, but to date, has not identified any suspicious circumstances.
We will continue to prepare a file for the coroner.

Continuing work at Hanningfield Reservoir following an plane crash has resulted in the recovery of a body.

We have been working with colleagues in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to locate an aircraft that entered the water on Sunday 28 December.

The private aircraft, a Beagle B121 Pup, departed North Weald Airfield just before 12pm that day.

It crashed in the reservoir, near Chelmsford, at around 2pm.

The crash site has been located following extensive work.

Sadly, on the afternoon of Tuesday 30 December, a man’s body was recovered by divers.

An identification procedure will be led by His Majesty’s Coroner.

The investigation has not identified any suspicious circumstances and a file is being prepared for the coroner.

Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan 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.
“Work to formally identify this man will be undertaken sensitively with HM Coroner, and it is not right that we officially confirm his identity until this procedure is followed.
“My officers, the AAIB and divers supporting from the Metropolitan Police Service continued to search the reservoir following activity late into Monday evening (29 December).
“Our enquiries identified the specific area we believe the aircraft entered the water, and using sonar equipment under the water the teams methodically scanned the reservoir floor.
“This has resulted in the discovery of debris and, crucially, a body.
“We believe this is the body of the sole occupant of the aircraft and our search activity has therefore concluded.
“As a result of further investigative work, we will be preparing a file for the coroner.
“Responsibility for the reservoir and any required further recovery work will pass back to the owners of the site.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their patience while we carry this search out. This was highly-detailed work being carried out by specialists from across multiple agencies.”

A spokesperson for Essex and Suffolk Water said:

“There has been no impact to customer water supplies and Essex & Suffolk water teams are managing the reservoir carefully to ensure that water quality and ecology are protected.”

We remain on the scene of a serious incident at Hanningfield Reservoir, Chelmsford.

We were alerted shortly after 2pm on Sunday 28 December to reports involving a small aircraft entering the water.

We are working with several organisations at the scene now and that work will be ongoing.

We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.

An investigation has been launched.

Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan said:
We are still in the early stages of our investigation and are working closely with the Air Accident Investigation Branch to establish what has happened.

We would ask anyone who has any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.

You can let us know by submitting a report on our website.

Please quote incident 552 of 28 December when providing any information to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible.