No major safety failures found in deadly Missouri skydiving plane crash, report says

A government safety agency has released its first report on a deadly plane crash in Missouri that killed all 12 people on board. The crash happened on June 14, when a small plane carrying a pilot and 11 skydivers went down near Butler Memorial Airport, about an hour south of Kansas City. The National Transportation Safety Board, known as the NTSB, said its early findings show no clear mechanical problems caused the crash.

The NTSB found no engine failure or mechanical breakdown before the crash. Investigators even said the engine appeared to be producing power at the moment of impact. Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said he was surprised by this finding. 'I was surprised that they had determined that the engine was producing power,' he said. He had expected an engine problem might have caused the pilot to try to turn back to the airport.

The plane took off at 11:25 a.m. on a clear day. Shortly after takeoff, it began turning slowly to the left. Both wings tilted until they were nearly straight up and down, which meant they could no longer lift the plane. The aircraft then plunged nose-first into a field and burst into flames. The fire badly damaged the plane's body, cockpit, cabin, and fuel system.

Investigators checked the fuel and found no dirt or debris in it. They also looked at the skydiving company's records and confirmed the plane was not overloaded. The pilot was experienced, with more than 4,100 flight hours logged. He had worked for the company, Skydive Kansas City, for two jump seasons in a row.

The plane was not required to carry a flight data recorder or voice recorder, which are the 'black boxes' used on large commercial planes. However, investigators did find damaged GoPro cameras in the wreckage, which may offer some clues. The NTSB's full investigation is still ongoing, and a final report can take more than a year to finish.

Some family members of the victims were at the airport watching when the crash happened. Among those killed was Jen Sharp, the technology director of the United States Parachute Association, which is the group that oversees skydiving in the country. Skydive Kansas City called the crash a 'devastating loss.'

Safety experts have long raised concerns about how well skydiving flights are monitored. After a 2019 crash in Hawaii that killed 11 people, the NTSB said the FAA's rules were not strong enough to keep skydiving flights safe. The FAA has not yet made those changes, but said it formed a committee in April 2025 to look at ways to improve skydiving safety. The United States Parachute Association said Skydive Kansas City followed all required safety rules. The skydiving industry points out that last year nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed, and only 16 civilians died, most due to human error.