Updated ,first published
Butler, Missouri: A plane carrying the pilot and 11 passengers who were planning to take off on a sunny afternoon crashed in Missouri, killing all on board, authorities said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement that troopers were at the scene of the crash, assisting the Butler Police Department and the Bates County Sheriff’s Office. The crash happened near Butler Memorial Airport on Sunday (US time). The small town of Butler has a population of about 4300 and is located approximately 105 km south of Kansas City.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said the plane was taking people into space. Emergency responders received a call that the plane was down and on fire around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, he said.
“It landed in a field near the airport, but I think they’re closing the road as a precaution,” Ewing said.
A pile of blue and silver metal lay on the grass near the airport and a large line of emergency vehicles lined the road beside it.
Teams from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were en route to the crash site Sunday afternoon to investigate, according to the Missouri State Patrol.
The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and director of the Bates County Emergency Management Agency.
“It had just come out and hit the left side” before the crash, Jacobs said. “In my opinion I think it was losing power, and he was trying to pass on the freeway and on dry land, and he stopped and went down nose first and caught fire.”
Emergency crews were able to put out the fire shortly after the crash, Jacobs said, calling the scene “brutal.”
First responders checked the area below the runway and did not find anyone who might have tried to jump before the crash, Jacobs said.
The crashed Pacific Aerospace 750XL is a turboprop engine model aircraft that is popular for flying but has also proven useful for other applications, including cargo, space exploration and rescue flights.
The plane can carry up to 17 divers and has the ability to take off and land on short runways. The plane that crashed Saturday was manufactured in 2010, according to FAA records.
The small airport serves about 30 aircraft, all privately owned, including refineries and airlines, Ewing said.
Skydiving companies operate in the area eight or nine months a year, the season usually starting in late March or early April and lasting until October or November. A person answering the phone at Skydive Kansas City declined to speak with a reporter from the Associated Press.
It is not yet known what factors may have contributed to or caused the crash, Ewing said, and those details will be part of an investigation by NTSB officials.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said that poor maintenance has been the cause of several past airline accidents because these companies are not held to a high standard under FAA rules.
Guzzetti said aviation companies are governed by the same rules that any private jet owner must follow and not the stricter rules that charter flight operators and airlines follow.
“There has been a whole history of aviation accidents with poor maintenance and a poor safety culture,” said Guzzetti, who served as an accident investigator for the NTSB and the FAA.
AP
