Skydiving plane crash leaves 12 people dead in Kansas City

Twelve people have been killed when a skydiving aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off from an airport in Kansas City, US.

The single-engine turboprop plane, operated by Skydive Kansas City, went down near Butler Memorial Airport in Bates County at around 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.

Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said several relatives of those on board witnessed the crash.

Emergency crews quickly responded and extinguished the fire, while clergy members and volunteers were deployed to assist family members gathered nearby.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials arrived at the site on Sunday, and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were dispatched to begin an investigation.

According to Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and director of the Bates County Emergency Management Agency, the aircraft had just departed the airport and turned left before losing altitude.

“It had just taken off and made a left turn,” 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,” Jacobs said.

Emergency responders searched the area beneath the flight path but found no indication that anyone had exited the aircraft before impact, Jacobs added.

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The investigation comes as the NTSB has previously raised concerns about oversight standards in the skydiving industry in the US.

In a 2019 crash in Hawaii that killed 11 people, the agency said FAA’s regulatory system was not strong enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights.

Former NTSB and FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti said safety problems have been identified repeatedly in past cases.

“There has been a whole history of skydiving accidents for inadequate maintenance and deficient safety culture,” according to Guzzetti.

The exact cause of Sunday’s crash will not be clear until the National Transportation Safety Board completes its final report, which can take a year or longer.

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