KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A plane crash at Butler Memorial Airport on Sunday killed 12 people, including a pilot and 11 skydivers, according to Bates County authorities.

The crash happened during takeoff and was reported about 11:27 a.m., Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said in a news conference Sunday afternoon. The plane was a locally-based, 10-person aircraft. The airport is about an hour’s drive south of Kansas City.

The low-wing, single-engine turboprop plane was not able to make it to full power, according to officials with the Bates County Emergency Management Agency. The plane was turning left when it stalled near Interstate 49 Business — a local road that runs between Interstate 49 and the airport.

Video from the scene of the crash shows firefighters near a smoking pile of debris.

Bates County sheriff describes response

At the news conference, Anderson said he did not know who owned the aircraft. But he said it was operating locally to the airport. He said authorities saw nothing criminal or related to terrorism in the crash, labeling it an accident.

Still, he said, the investigation of the crash will be carried out by the Federal Aviation Administration, which was on scene, and by the National Transportation Safety Board, which had yet to arrive.

It would only be after part of that investigation occurred at the scene that authorities would be cleared to recover the remains of the individuals killed in the crash and positively identify them, Anderson said.

The crash was being treated as a “mass casualty” event, Anderson said. When the 911 call came in, local authorities sent all nearby fire departments, though they were “peeling back” the response Sunday afternoon after the facts of the crash became known.

The plane, a 2010 Pacific Aerospace LTD 750XL, was registered to a Tennessee company, the Bates County Emergency Management Agency confirmed.

Skydive Kansas City issues statement

The skydiving company, Skydive Kansas City, which operates out of the Butler Memorial Airport, called the crash “a devastating loss.”

In a statement, the company said “an aircraft operated in support of skydiving operations at Skydive Kansas City was involved in an accident shortly after takeoff from Butler Memorial Airport.” It said the aircraft was carrying 11 skydivers and one pilot.

“Tragically, all 12 individuals aboard lost their lives in the accident,” the company said.

Skydive said it is working closely with local authorities, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“At this time, the focus of the management and ownership team is to assist investigators and to support the staff and the broader skydiving community,” the company said. “The entire team is in shock, and the community is close-knit. We ask for privacy as we direct all efforts toward managing this tragedy and remaining available to authorities as they work to determine the cause.”

Skydive Kansas City has been in business since 1998, according to its website, and was purchased by Bucketlist Experience in 2024. The company also operates skydiving companies out of Indianapolis and Rock County, Wisconsin. Bucketlist Experience officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

City Council member responds

Butler City Council member Scott Mallatt said he was sitting on his front porch Sunday when he heard sirens blaring from the local volunteer fire department.

Mallatt said he first learned of the crash after speaking with someone who saw the news on Facebook.

As of Sunday afternoon, he had not heard any official information about the crash from city officials.

“We’re just in prayer for the families of the victims,” he said. “It’s quite a tragedy if what I’m gathering is true.”

State lawmakers weigh in

In the aftermath of the crash, Rep. Dane Diehl, a Republican who represents Butler in the Missouri House, said he reached out to local law enforcement to make sure they had all the resources they needed. He said he also spoke with Gov. Mike Kehoe to make sure the governor was aware of the situation.

Representatives from the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, or SEMA, were at the scene of the crash, Diehl said.

“It’s a real tragedy,” he said. “We trust in our law enforcement, first responders and everyone associated with that, but we know that there’s no way to cope with that amount of people that are lost in an accident.”

There’s been a business performing skydiving “for a long time in our community,” he said. Those trips have attracted individuals “from far and wide” and Diehl said he had not yet learned who perished in the crash.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican who represents Butler in the Missouri Senate, called for prayers “for all the families of those killed in the crash” in a text message Sunday afternoon.

“What a terrible tragedy,” said Brattin, who is running for Congress. “Having skydived several times out of the Butler airport personally with family and friends, this is unimaginable.”

More about the crash

The Bates County Sheriff’s Office shared at 11:52 a.m. that Interstate 49 Business near the airport would be “shut down in both directions for an undetermined amount of time.”

People concerned about their loved ones were directed to go to a family notification center established at the Osage Valley Electric Company at the south perimeter of the airport.

In 2024, a skydiving plane crashed near the Butler Memorial Airport after a skydiver’s parachute deployed over a small plane’s tail, causing damage that sent the aircraft out of control, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report. No one was injured.

Sgt. Justin Ewing, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said just after 5 p.m. Sunday that initial NTSB investigators wouldn’t arrive for another hour or two. The lead investigator, the one who would provide a press briefing, wasn’t expected to be in Butler until Monday, Ewing said.

No additional news briefings were scheduled for Sunday evening. Many family members of those who were on board the plane were still on the scene.

“They will be updated as the evening progresses,” Ewing said. Authorities were still reaching out to some relatives Sunday evening.

“I do know they are making phone calls,” the sergeant said. “They’re still in that whole notification process.”

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