BUTLER, Mo. (WOWO): Twelve people were killed Sunday when a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff and burst into flames near a small airport in western Missouri.
Authorities said the single-engine turboprop aircraft was carrying a pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving trip when it went down around 11:30 a.m. near Butler Memorial Airport in Bates County, about 65 miles south of Kansas City.
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said some family members of those on board witnessed the crash. Emergency crews responded quickly and extinguished the fire, but there were no survivors.
Officials spent much of Sunday working to identify the victims and notify their families. Clergy and volunteers were also brought to the scene to assist relatives gathered near the crash site.
According to airport officials, the aircraft was operated by Skydive Kansas City and had just departed the airport when it appeared to encounter trouble.
Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and director of the Bates County Emergency Management Agency, said the plane made a left turn shortly after takeoff before descending.
“In my opinion, I think it was losing power,” Jacobs said. “He was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.”
The aircraft was identified as a Pacific Aerospace 750XL, a model commonly used by skydiving operations because of its ability to carry heavy loads and operate from shorter runways. Federal records indicate the plane was built in 2010.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were on scene Sunday, while a team from the National Transportation Safety Board was traveling to Missouri to begin a full investigation.
Data from flight-tracking service FlightAware showed the aircraft had completed two flights earlier Sunday and several more in recent days.
Authorities have not determined what caused the crash. Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said investigators will examine all possible factors as part of the NTSB investigation.
The sheriff emphasized there is no threat to the public and that the crash appears to have been an accident.
The tragedy renewed scrutiny of the safety oversight of skydiving operations. Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti, a former investigator with both the NTSB and FAA, noted that skydiving operators are generally regulated under less stringent rules than commercial airlines and charter carriers.
The NTSB has previously raised concerns about oversight of the industry following other fatal skydiving aircraft crashes, including a 2019 accident in Hawaii that killed 11 people.
Federal investigators are expected to remain at the scene for several days. A final NTSB report determining the probable cause of the crash could take a year or more to complete.
