KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 12 people, including 11 skydivers and a pilot, have been killed after a private plane crashed in Butler, Missouri, in the United States, officials said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash occurred near Butler Memorial Airport, about 60 miles (100 km) south of Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday, according to Reuters.
“Tragically, all 12 individuals aboard lost their lives in the accident,” the skydiving company said.
Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and Bates County emergency management director, told Reuters that the single-engine turboprop aircraft took off around 11:20 a.m. but failed to gain altitude, made a sharp left turn, and crashed about 300 yards (274 metres) from the runway.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified the aircraft as a Pacific Aerospace 750XL.
“This is not a commercial airliner that has crashed; it’s a local aircraft that took off from our local airport,” Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said. “This appears to be an accident,” he added at a press conference.
Anderson said family members of the victims witnessed the crash. He added that officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had arrived at the scene.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe said on Facebook that several state agencies were responding, including grief counsellors deployed to support the families of victims.
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