Eleven skydivers and one pilot were killed Sunday in a Missouri plane crash described as a “mass casualty” event.
The tragedy unfolded just moments after takeoff from Butler Memorial Airport, a city located about 65 miles south of Kansas City.
AP reports the plane came down at around 11:30 a.m., and some of the occupants’ family members witnessed the crash, said Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.
Because the aircraft had only just become airborne, it was too low to establish contact with air traffic controllers before the accident occurred.
The outlet detailed what was seen:
A heap of blue and silver mangled metal lay in the grass near Butler Memorial Airport with a massive lineup of emergency vehicles gathered on a nearby street.
Clergy and volunteers went to the site to assist relatives […] and officials were working Sunday afternoon to identify all victims and notify their next of kin.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration rushed to the scene Sunday afternoon, Anderson said. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board also attended.
The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs per the AP report. He is the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director.
“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said. “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.”
The single-engine turboprop Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed is a model that’s popular for skydiving and also has proven useful for carrying cargo, aerial surveying and medical evacuation flights, the AP report made clear.
The full Associated Press report can be found here