A pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving outing were killed after their plane crashed moments after takeoff at an airport in western Missouri, with authorities calling it as one of the deadliest US skydiving plane crashes in decades.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane took off at around 11:35 a.m. local time on Sunday from the Butler Memorial Airport, but was unable to get visual altitude. After making a sharp left turn, the aircraft crashed nearly 300 yards from the runway, said Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and Bates County emergency management director.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing told The Associated Press that the plane crashed in a field next to the airport and soon engulfed in flames.
Post the incident, a heap of blue and silver mangled metal was left laid in the grass near the airport, while a massive lineup of emergency vehicles was spotted on a nearby street.
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said family members of some of the occupants witnessed the crash.
According to Jacobs, the private aircraft was operated by Skydive Kansas City and was identified as a single engine turboprop plane. The company has been business since 1998 and has sister skydiving firms in Indianapolis and Wisconsin as well.
“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said and added, “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.”
As of now, the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, while it could take the National Transportation Safety Board one to two years to determine the cause, CNN reported.