All 12 aboard killed when skydiving plane crashes moments after takeoff in Missouri

The crash

On Sunday, June 14, a single-engine turboprop plane operated by Skydive Kansas City crashed moments after departing Butler Memorial Airport, killing all 12 on board. The Pacific Aerospace 750XL, carrying 11 skydivers and a pilot, failed to gain altitude after takeoff, veered sharply left, and plunged nose-first into a field about 300 yards from the runway. Witnesses said the aircraft was roughly 100 feet from the ground when it made the sudden turn.

“The pilot was trying to gain altitude and wasn't successful. It stalled and crashed.”

The aircraft, built in 2010, had completed two successful flights earlier that morning. Weather was clear after overnight storms, and investigators do not suspect it as a factor.

Witnesses and victims

Witnesses and family members at the airport watched the plane go down.

“They didn't have time to jump. They were so low to the ground, the parachutes wouldn't have deployed, and there was no way anyone could have jumped and survived that.”

Among the passengers were nine experienced skydivers and two tandem jumpers. Skydiver Kevin Payne, who had jumped with seven of those killed, described the group as a "sky family."

“There is a joy and peace and freedom to what we do. It's not about the adrenaline. It's about really flying together with your family in that brief, exquisite instant that people who live their lives on the ground will never understand.”

Regular jumper Charles Crinklaw added,

“Everybody on that plane was somebody that I know.”

The operator and its record

Skydive Kansas City was founded in 1998 and acquired by investment firm Little Engine Ventures in 2024. The parent company also owns skydiving operators in Indianapolis and Beloit, Wisconsin. The firm calls its safety record "impeccable," though in May 2024 another of its planes was destroyed when a skydiver's emergency parachute accidentally deployed during boarding, injuring the man but allowing the pilot and five others to parachute to safety. Sunday's crash is the deadliest involving a skydiving aircraft in 31 years; the last comparable loss was a 1995 crash in West Point, Virginia, that also killed 12 people.

Investigation

The NTSB and FAA are leading the investigation. The plane was not in contact with air traffic control, as not required for the airspace it operated in. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, but a final probable-cause determination could take 12 to 24 months.

“At this point, this appears to be an accident.”

Community impact

The crash has shaken the close-knit skydiving community. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe said state grief counselors were dispatched to assist surviving relatives. Skydive Kansas City called the event "a devastating loss for everyone connected to Skydive Kansas City and for the wider skydiving community."