The plane lost altitude after taking off, made a sharp turn to the left and crashed approximately 275 meters from the runway, ending up engulfed in flames.
Eleven parachutists and a pilot died this Sunday following the crash of a plane near an airport in Butler, in the US state of Missouri, according to authorities.
The accident occurred near Butler Memorial Airport, the Missouri Highway Patrol reported in a post on social media X.
The aircraft had just taken off at around 11:20 a.m. local time, but was unable to gain visual altitude, made a sharp left turn and crashed about 275 meters from the runway, Dennis Jacobs, acting director of the airport and responsible for civil protection for Bates County, explained to CNN.
According to Jacobs, it was a single-engine turboprop plane operated by the company Skydive Kansas City.
The aircraft was carrying people preparing to make parachute jumps when emergency services received an alert that a plane had crashed and was engulfed in flames, Sergeant Justin Ewing of the Missouri Highway Patrol told the Associated Press.
“It landed in a field adjacent to the airport, but I believe authorities are closing the nearby road just as a precaution,” Ewing told the news outlet.
The accident will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the American entity responsible for investigating transportation accidents.
The victims have not yet been identified as family members have not yet been officially notified, Ewing added.
“It’s horrible,” Jacobs lamented about the accident.
There are also members of the Butler Police Department and the Bates County Sheriff’s Office on site.
Butler is located about 65 miles south of Kansas City.
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of the accident.
