Missouri skydiving plane crash that killed all 12 aboard is a 'devastating loss,' company says
The skydiving company at the center of a Missouri plane crash that killed all 12 people aboard said Sunday that its staff remains "in shock" following the disaster, describing the deaths of 11 skydivers and a pilot as a "devastating loss" for both the business and the broader skydiving community.Skydive Kansas City said the aircraft was operating in support of the company's skydiving operations when it went down shortly after taking off around noon from Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Missouri, the company said in a statement obtained by local news outlet KCTV."Tragically, all 12 individuals aboard lost their lives in the accident," the company said."This is a devastating loss for everyone connected to Skydive Kansas City and for the wider skydiving community."The company extended its condolences to the victims' families and said it would not release the names of those killed until all next of kin have been notified.EXPERIENCED SKYDIVER PLUMMETS TO HER DEATH DESPITE PARACHUTE 'FULLY DEPLOYING AS DESIGNED'The wreckage of a plane crash burns in a field in Butler, Mo., on June 14, 2026.
(Mid America News Review/AP Photo)"The entire team is in shock, and the community is close-knit," the statement said.Skydive Kansas City said it is cooperating with local authorities, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is leading the investigation into the crash.Missouri authorities first announced the deadly crash Sunday, describing it as a "mass casualty" event that left everyone on board dead.Wreckage lies in a field next to Butler Memorial Airport after a plane carrying skydivers crashed on June 14, 2026.(TPX Images/ABC Affiliate KMBC/Reuters)The aircraft, identified by the FAA as a Pacific Aerospace P750, crashed while departing Butler Memorial Airport around 11:35 a.m.
local time.The plane was engulfed in flames after impact, though emergency crews were able to extinguish the fire shortly afterward, Bates Coun...