12 killed after Missouri plane crashes in one of the deadliest US skydiving incidents in decades, officials say

A pilot and 11 passengers died Sunday after their plane crashed minutes after takeoff at a western Missouri airport in one of the deadliest U.S. skydiving plane crashes in decades, authorities said.

The plane had just taken off from Butler Memorial Airport around 11:35 local time. The Federal Aviation Administration said: After failing to gain visual altitude, it made a sharp left turn and crashed about 1,000 feet from the runway, according to Dennis Jacobs, airport manager and Bates County emergency management director.

It crashed into a field next to the airport and burst into flames, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing told the Associated Press.

Jacobs said he believed the plane lost power.

believes in the pilot he told the APWhile trying to reach the highway and land, he stopped and fell nose first.

The exact cause of the crash is under investigation and it may take one to two years for the National Transportation Safety Board to determine the cause. A spokesperson told CNN that investigators are expected to arrive at the scene on Monday.

CNN aviation safety analyst David Soucie echoed Jacob’s sentiment but added that it was too early to tell what caused the potential drop in power.

Soucie said the type of engine on the plane was known to be reliable and the problem may have been caused by water in the fuel or a fuel filter problem rather than maintenance issues or pilot experience.

The single-engine turboprop aircraft was operated by Skydive Kansas City, which has been in operation since 1998 and has sister skydiving companies in Indianapolis and Wisconsin.

“This is a devastating loss for everyone associated with Skydive Kansas City and the broader skydiving community,” the company said in a statement. CNN affiliate KCTV. “The focus of the management and ownership team at this time is to assist researchers and support staff and the wider skydiving community. The entire team is in shock and the community is tight-knit.”

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Authorities searched the crash scene on foot and with a drone to see if anyone could jump from the plane before it crashed, Jacobs said.

Some of the victims were experienced paratroopers

Authorities said nine of the victims were experienced parachutists and two were participating in tandem jumps.

Travis Phippen, who said he lost many friends in the accident, described the incident as “heartbreaking.”

“The skydiving community is incredibly close-knit, and several of the people on that plane had a profound impact on countless lives, including mine,” he said.

“We all understand and accept that there are inherent risks in this sport, but it is absolutely devastating to lose so many of our friends and respected members of the community at the same time.”

The identities of the victims have not been publicly disclosed.

Some family members witnessed the crash, authorities said.

“It’s tough,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican. “It’s a beautiful day here, blue skies, green grass, people enjoying something outside, I think some of them were skydivers preparing to parachute in a tandem formation for the first time.”

Both local and state law enforcement responded to the scene Sunday, along with trained grief counselors from the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s Behavioral Health Strike Team.

“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones in today’s tragic crash of a parachute plane near Butler Memorial Airport,” Gov. Mike Kehoe wrote.

Butler Memorial Airport is a small, rural airport about an hour’s drive south of Kansas City. Ewing said they do not have scheduled commercial flights. Skydive KC is one of several companies listed. pilot guides It’s like providing service at the airport.

It has a runway that is approximately 4,000 feet long and has no control tower. Pilots communicate using a common frequency on which they announce their intentions.

The sheriff said the airport will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time.

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The FAA has previously been criticized for its regulations on skydiving drones

There have been eight fatal skydiving-related plane crashes in the last decade, killing 25 people. US Parachute Association.

Near the same airport May 2024A pilot and six passengers on a skydiving flight jumped from a small plane just before it crashed. No one was killed in this incident.

Airplane used for parachuting is edited Under Part 91 of the FAA regulations, which also covers small general aviation aircraft flown by private pilots. The regulations are much less stringent than Part 121, which covers most large commercial scheduled passenger aircraft.

At a press conference in 2019, parachuting plane crash NTSB board member Jennifer Homendy, who killed 11 people in Hawaii he told reporters The FAA has ignored many proposals to change safety regulations for parachute plane operators.

Before Sunday’s incident, the Hawaii crash was the deadliest plane crash involving parachuting since 1995.

“There is an inherent risk in skydiving, and there are precautions you take to reduce that risk, but paying passengers should be able to count on an airworthy aircraft, an adequately trained pilot, a safe operator, and adequate federal oversight of these operations,” Homendy said at the time.

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed Sunday was manufactured in 2010, according to FAA records. It’s popular for skydiving, but has also proven useful for other purposes such as cargo, aerial surveys and medical evacuation flights, according to the AP. The plane can carry 17 paratroopers and can take off and land on short runways, the news agency reported.

The plane had made two short flights Sunday morning, one at 9:20 a.m. and one at 10:32 a.m., according to flight tracking site FlightAware. FAA records show the plane was registered to SkyHi Aero, a Tennessee-based company.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Aaron Cooper, Leah Asmelash, Sneha Dhandapani and Julianna Bragg contributed to this report.

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