12 dead after skydiving plane crashes in Missouri, authorities say

National 12 dead after skydiving plane crashes in Missouri, authorities say June 14, 20263:49 PM ET By  The Associated Press Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Butler Memorial Airport after a plane crash in Butler, Mo., on Sunday. Reed Hoffmann/AP hide caption toggle caption Reed Hoffmann/AP BUTLER, Mo. — A plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers planning to spend a sunny afternoon skydiving crashed Sunday in Missouri, killing all aboard, authorities said. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement that troopers were at the crash site, assisting the Butler Police Department & Bates County Sheriff's Office. The crash occurred near the Butler Memorial Airport. The small town of Butler has a population of around 4,300 people and is roughly 65 miles south of Kansas City. Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said the plane was taking people up to skydive. Emergency responders got a call that a plane was down and engulfed in flames around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, he said. Sponsor Message "It landed in a field adjacent to the airport, but I think they're shutting down the roadway just as a precaution," Ewing said. A heap of blue and silver mangled metal lay in the grass near the airport with a massive line-up of emergency vehicles on the street beside it. Teams from the National Transportation Safety Board and 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, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director. "It had just taken off and made a left turn" before the crash, Jacobs said. "In my opinion I think it was losing power, and he was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire." Emergency responders were able to put out the fire shortly after the crash, Jacobs said, calling the scene "brutal." Firs...