US: Skydiving plane crash leaves 12 people dead in Missouri
A private plane carrying skydivers crashed in the US state of Missouri on Sunday, killing all 12 people on board, authorities said. The crash occurred near the Butler Memorial Airport — which lies 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Kansas City — shortly after the plane took o
A private plane carrying skydivers crashed in the US state of Missouri on Sunday, killing all 12 people on board, authorities said.
The crash occurred near the Butler Memorial Airport — which lies 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Kansas City — shortly after the plane took off.
"Tragically, all 12 individuals aboard lost their lives in the accident," the skydiving company said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the aircraft as a single-engine Pacific Aerospace P750.
Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County emergency management director, told news agency Reuters that the plane took off around 11:20 a.m. CT (1620 UTC) .
It did not gain visual altitude and was seen making a sharp left turn, before it came down some 300 yards (274 meters) from the runway, near a highway, Jacobs said.
First responders swept the flight path to find anyone who might have tried to jump out of the plane as it began to nose dive but did not find any such signs, Jacobs added.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) — which was leading a probe into the incident — said in a statement that investigators were set to reach the scene on Monday.
