Missouri authorities announced Sunday that 12 people were killed in a plane crash in a “mass casualty” event that left everyone on board dead.
Sources told Fox 4 Kansas City that 11 of the victims were skydivers and the 12th was the pilot.
The crash happened near Butler Memorial Airport, about 65 miles south of Kansas City, according to a statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol on X.
The plane was engulfed in flames after the crash, but emergency responders were able to extinguish the fire shortly after impact, Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said.
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“A Pacific Aerospace P750 crashed while departing from Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri around 11:35 a.m. local time on Sunday, June 14,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“Air traffic services were not being provided at the time. Twelve people were on board. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation.”
The incident happened when a private plane departing the airport turned around for an unknown reason and crashed near Business 49 Highway, a spokesperson for Bates County Emergency Management told Fox 4.
Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and director of the Bates County Emergency Management Agency, told The AP he suspects the aircraft experienced power issues before the crash.
“It had just taken off and made a left turn,” 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.”
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Troopers, along with officers from the Butler Police Department and deputies from the Bates County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene and are assisting with the crash investigation.
Sheriff Anderson said the crash appeared to be an accident and emphasized there is no indication of criminal activity.
“We are treating that as a national or as a mass casualty,” he said. “We want to be very clear. This is not a commercial airliner that has crashed. It’s a local airplane that took off from our local airport.”
The aircraft was carrying passengers preparing for a tandem skydive, officials said, adding that many were inexperienced first-time skydivers.
Some family members of the victims were at the airport and witnessed the crash, officials said.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said the aircraft landed in a field adjacent to the airport and that a nearby roadway would be shut down as a precaution.
The aircraft involved was a single-engine turboprop model manufactured in 2020, The AP reported, noting it is widely used for skydiving operations and capable of operating on short runways.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
