BUTLER, Mo. — A small plane loaded with skydivers went down in flames just after liftoff from a Missouri airfield Sunday, claiming the lives of all 12 people on board, according to authorities.
The aircraft, carrying one pilot and 11 passengers, crashed into a nearby field and burst into flames. Adding to the heartbreak, some family members who had arrived at the airport to watch their loved ones jump witnessed the crash firsthand, according to Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.
Kevin Payne, who had previously jumped alongside seven of the victims, described those lost as part of a deeply connected community. “There is a joy and peace and freedom to what we do. That’s what most people never understand,” Payne, of Parkville, Missouri, wrote in an email. “It’s not about the adrenaline. It’s about really flying together with your family in that brief, exquisite instant that people who live their lives on the ground will never understand.”
Payne said the group was made up of very different individuals who were united by what he called a “sky family” bond.
Investigators have not yet pinpointed a cause for the crash, and a final determination from the National Transportation Safety Board could take a year or longer. Weather does not appear to have played a role.
Eyewitnesses reported that the plane was approximately 100 feet off the ground when it made a sudden sharp left turn before going down. Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager at Butler Memorial Airport, said the aircraft appeared to be losing power. He suggested the pilot may have been attempting to reach a nearby highway for an emergency landing before the plane stalled and plunged nose-first into the ground.
The plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City. The crash occurred in the small town of Butler, located roughly 65 miles south of Kansas City.
The aircraft involved was a Pacific Aerospace 750XL, a single-engine turboprop that is widely used in the skydiving industry because it is built specifically for the sport. It can carry parachutists to jumping altitude quickly and is capable of operating on short runways. Flight tracking data from FlightAware shows the plane — built in 2010 — had completed nine successful flights in the days leading up to the crash, including two earlier on Sunday morning.
Federal safety investigators have previously raised alarms about insufficient oversight of skydiving operations. Following a separate crash that killed 11 people in Hawaii, the NTSB stated that the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory framework is not strong enough to guarantee the safety of skydiving flights.
The United States Parachute Association, the governing body for the sport, released a statement saying “a loss of this magnitude is felt profoundly across the entire sport.” The organization also noted that Skydive Kansas City follows the safety standards of the world’s largest skydiving organization, including all FAA-mandated maintenance requirements.
The skydiving industry points to what it considers a strong overall safety record. The association reported that nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed last year, with 16 civilian fatalities — most of which were attributed to human error.
