Investigators reveal shocking twist in fiery Missouri skydiving plane crash that killed 12 people

Investigators are struggling to explain what caused the fiery Missouri skydiving plane crash that killed 12 people last month – after an initial probe found no major safety failures that could account for the disaster, a new report reveals. Federal aviation investigators examining the June 14 crash – in which 11 skydivers and their pilot plunged to their deaths – found no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical or engine malfunctions that would have brought down the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report released Thursday. There was no sediment or debris contaminating the 38-foot plane’s fuel, a post-accident sample found, while a review of the skydiving operator company’s records showed the aircraft met all the weight and balance requirements before takeoff. The head-scratching findings suggest the single-engine turboprop plane – operated by Skydive Kansas City – should have been operating normally before it erupted into a fireball, according to investigators.Unlike commercial airliners, the privately owned aircraft was not required to carry a crashworthy voice or data recorder; however, investigators recovered damaged GoPro cameras from the wreckage and sent them to a lab for review. The horrific crash unfolded just five minutes after the plane took off from Butler Memorial Airport at about 11:25 a.m. During its initial climb through clear skies, the plane suddenly veered left near Business 49 Highway. Both wings became almost perpendicular to the ground before it slammed into a field, nose down, and burst into flames, investigators said. Hours after the crash, Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, said he thought that the pilot had been trying to make an emergency landing. “In my opinion, I think it was losing power, and [the pilot] was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose-first and caught fi...