Twelve people are dead after a small plane destined for a skydiving excursion crashed near Butler, Missouri, Sunday morning.
“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones in today’s tragic crash of a skydiving plane near Butler Memorial Airport,” Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said in an X post. “The state of Missouri will continue to provide all resources possible to assist. Our prayers are with the community and all those working to help.”
A single-engine Pacific Aerospace 750XL operated by Skydive Kansas City took off around 10:30 a.m. CT from Butler Memorial Airport, carrying 11 passengers and a pilot, The Epoch Times reports.
“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, told AP News. “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.”
Several family members witnessed the crash, according to Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.
The 2010 aircraft’s maximum capacity is 17 passengers and is commonly used for skydiving operations, according to Fox4KC. The same plane that crashed had taken two previous trips Sunday morning, two trips Saturday and five flights Friday, according to FlightAware records.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross and local authorities all responded to the scene, Kehoe said in his post.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol has closed a nearby roadway as a precaution, according to The Epoch Times. Butler Memorial Airport serves about 30 privately owned planes in Butler, a town of about 4,300 people roughly an hour south of Kansas City.
Skydive Kansas City opened in 1998 as a father-son business. In 2024, Little Engine Ventures acquired the company from the founders and added the site to its Bucketlist Experience network of skydiving drop zones, according to the Skydive Kansas City website.
Skydive Kansas City has not responded to The Lion’s request for comment.
In May 2024, another plane from Skydive Kansas City crashed, but all seven people onboard safely ejected and suffered no fatalities, according to Fox. After a 2019 crash in Hawaii that killed 11 people, the National Transportation Safety Board said the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory system cannot ensure the safety of all skydiving flights due to weak oversight of skydiving operators, according to AP.
U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri, said he traveled to the scene of Sunday’s crash and spoke with U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“Right now, our focus is on supporting the families. We are here with them on the ground,” he said in an X post. “Moments like this remind us how fragile life is. Missouri is strong, and we will stand together. Lifting up these families, honoring those we lost and seeking the truth about what happened. Please join us in praying for the victims, their families and our brave first responders.”
(Image credit: Screenshot / Fox 4 KC)
