According to local authorities, the single-engine turboprop aircraft crashed shortly after departing from the Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri at approximately 11:20 a.m. local time.
A tragic plane crash near a Missouri airport has claimed the lives of 12 people, including 11 skydivers and a pilot, after an aircraft carrying parachutists went down moments after takeoff on Sunday.
According to local authorities, the single-engine turboprop aircraft crashed shortly after departing from the Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri at approximately 11:20 a.m. local time.
Officials said the aircraft failed to gain sufficient visual altitude, executed a sudden left turn, and crashed into a field roughly 300 yards from the runway.
Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County emergency management director, said the plane had only just become airborne when the incident occurred, meaning it had not yet climbed high enough to establish communication with air traffic control, according to CNN.
