12 killed in Missouri skydiving plane crash
A leased skydiving aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff near Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri, killing all 11 skydivers and the pilot.
A Pacific Aerospace P750 operated by a skydiving company crashed shortly after departing Butler Memorial Airport in Bates County, Missouri, killing all 12 occupants, including 11 skydivers and the pilot. The aircraft took off at about 11:20 a.m. local time on Sunday, failed to gain altitude, executed a sharp left turn and impacted the ground roughly 200 yards from the runway, according to a Bates County Emergency Management spokesperson.
Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said the incident is being treated as a mass casualty event. > "We are treating that ... as a mass casualty," Anderson told reporters.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the aircraft type and noted that air traffic services were not provided at the time because the flight operated in airspace that did not require communication with controllers. Local responders initially checked whether any skydivers had already jumped before the crash.
