A plane carrying a group preparing for a Sunday afternoon of skydiving crashed in Missouri on Sunday, killing all 12 people on board, according to authorities.
In a statement, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said troopers were at the scene alongside the Butler Police Department and the Bates County Sheriff’s Office. The crash happened near Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, a town of about 4,300 residents located roughly 65 miles south of Kansas City.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said the aircraft was being used to take passengers up for skydives. Dispatchers received reports at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday that the plane had gone down and was on fire, he said.
Responders were able to put out the flames soon after the crash, Ewing said, describing the aftermath as “brutal.”
“It landed in a field adjacent to the airport, but I think they’re shutting down the roadway just as a precaution,” Ewing said.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were headed to the site Sunday afternoon to examine what caused the crash, the Missouri State Patrol said.
The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director.
“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said. “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.”
First responders have checked the area under the flight path and did not find anyone who might have tried to jump out before the crash, Jacobs said
The Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed is a single engine turboprop plane model that’s popular for skydiving but has also proven useful for other uses, including cargo, aerial surveying and medical evacuation flights. The aircraft can carry as many as 17 skydivers and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways. The plane that crashed Saturday was manufactured in 2010, according to FAA records.
The small airport serves around 30 aircraft, all privately owned, including crop dusting companies and sky dive operators, Ewing said.
Sky diving companies operate in the region eight or nine months a year, with the season usually starting in late March or early April and lasting into October or November. Someone answering the phone at Skydive Kansas City declined to speak to a reporter from The Associated Press.
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