A small aircraft crashed in Missouri, United States, killing all 12 people on board, including 11 skydivers and the pilot. The incident occurred on Sunday at around 11:20 a.m. local time when the plane, rented by a skydiving company, took off from Butler Memorial Airport but failed to gain sufficient altitude. It then veered left and crashed approximately 200 yards from the airport.
According to a spokesperson for the Bates County Emergency Management Department, the aircraft was a Pacific Aerospace P750 model. Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson stated at a press conference that the plane was not a commercial passenger aircraft but a small local plane that had just departed from the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the crash occurred during takeoff.
Authorities have not yet released further details about the cause of the crash or the identities of the victims.