Eleven skydivers and the pilot flying them died Sunday when their plane went down minutes after leaving a small western Missouri airport.

The aircraft, a Pacific Aerospace P750, went down as it left Butler Memorial Airport around 11:35 a.m. local time with 12 people aboard. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was not providing air traffic control services at the time of the crash, the agency said in a post on X.

Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, described the final moments to The Associated Press. “It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said. “In my opinion I think it was losing power, and he was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.” (RELATED: Plane Slams Into Building In Brazil In Deadly Crash)

What brought the plane down has not been determined, and authorities have ruled out foul play. “It absolutely is a call nobody wants to have on any day,” Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson told KCTV5, adding that nothing criminal or terrorism-related appeared to be involved.

Preliminary information shows a skydiving aircraft, a Pacific Aerospace P750, crashed while departing Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri at approximately 11:35 a.m. local time on June 14 with 12 people on board.

At the time of the crash, the FAA was not providing air traffic… https://t.co/FMCN81Jzyj

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) June 14, 2026

Crews walked the path beneath the plane and turned up no sign that anyone had bailed out before impact, according to The Associated Press.

The crash renewed questions about how loosely skydiving flights are regulated. Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for the NTSB and FAA, told The Associated Press that operators answer only to the rules governing any private plane owner rather than the tougher standards binding charter services and airlines. “There’s been a whole history of skydiving accidents for inadequate maintenance and deficient safety culture,” Guzzetti said.

The same airport saw a skydiving plane go down in 2024, though six jumpers and their pilot walked away, KCTV5 reported.

Investigators expect the work to last at least two days, and the NTSB will lead the probe with FAA assistance, according to FOX4.