A plane carrying passengers planning to spend a sunny afternoon skydiving crashed Sunday in Missouri, killing all 12 people aboard, authorities said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement that troopers were on the scene, 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 (105 kilometers) 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 fire around 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning, he said.
Emergency responders were able to extinguish the fire shortly after the crash, Ewing said, calling the scene “brutal.”