Eleven skydivers and their pilot died on Sunday after their plane crashed shortly after taking off from a rural airport in Missouri, local officials said. The aircraft, operated by Skydive Kansas City, failed to gain altitude and made a sharp left turn before plunging into the ground about 200 yards from Butler Memorial Airport, according to a Bates County Emergency Management spokesperson. The crash occurred around 11:20 local time, and all 12 people on board were killed.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane flying low before it suddenly nosedived, its wreckage bursting into flames near Business 49 Highway. The highway was closed as emergency responders rushed to the scene. “We are treating that ... as a mass casualty,” Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said during an afternoon news conference. He noted that some family members of the deceased witnessed the incident. The sheriff described the plane as “a local airplane that took off from our local airport.”
“Twelve people killed when a skydiving plane crashed after takeoff in Missouri, failing to gain altitude.”
Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, said the plane was a single-engine turboprop Pacific Aerospace P750, a model popular for skydiving. “It had just taken off and made a left turn” before crashing, Jacobs said, adding: “In my opinion, I think it was losing power, and he was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.” Emergency responders extinguished the blaze soon after, but Jacobs called the scene “brutal.”
First responders searched the area under the flight path but found no evidence that any skydivers had jumped before the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the plane was a Pacific Aerospace P750 and said air traffic services were not being provided at the time, as the plane was not required to be in communication due to the type of airspace. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation.
A Skydive Kansas City spokesman expressed the company’s devastation: “This is a devastating loss for everyone connected to Skydive Kansas City and for the wider skydiving community. Our deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and loved ones of all who were lost. The names of those involved will not be released until all next of kin have been notified.” Butler is about 50 miles south of Kansas City.