A pilot and 11 skydivers were killed Sunday morning when their plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Missouri, in what local authorities described as a mass casualty event.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash occurred at approximately 11:30 a.m. near the small airport, located roughly 65 miles south of Kansas City. The aircraft, a Pacific Aerospace P750 single-engine turboprop operated by Skydive Kansas City, had just taken off when it made a sharp left turn, lost altitude, and went down nose-first in a field adjacent to the airport before catching fire. Emergency responders extinguished the flames shortly after arriving.
Dennis Jacobs, the airport’s acting manager and director of the Bates County Emergency Management Agency, offered his assessment of what happened. “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,” Jacobs said. He described the scene as brutal. First responders checked the area beneath the flight path and found no indication that anyone had attempted to jump from the aircraft before it went down.
All 12 people aboard, 11 skydivers and the pilot, were killed. None of the victims have been publicly identified as authorities work to notify next of kin. Multiple witnesses, including family members of those on board, saw the crash from the ground.
The aircraft, built in 2010 and registered to a Tennessee-based company, was certified to carry up to 17 skydivers when configured for jump operations. FlightAware records show the plane had completed at least two other flights earlier Sunday morning, as well as flights the previous evening. The FAA confirmed that air traffic control services were not being provided at Butler Memorial Airport at the time of the crash, which is common at small general aviation airports of its size.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating. Authorities said they do not suspect criminal activity or terrorism, and confirmed there is no connection to the ongoing FIFA World Cup, despite Kansas City being one of the tournament’s host cities. The NTSB has previously raised concerns about regulatory oversight of skydiving operators following a 2019 crash in Hawaii that killed 11 people, finding the FAA’s existing framework insufficient to ensure safety across the industry.
Skydive Kansas City said its team is focused on supporting investigators and the broader skydiving community. “The entire team is in shock, and the community is close-knit,” the company said in a statement. Butler Memorial Airport and the adjacent highway remained closed Sunday afternoon while federal investigators worked the scene.
