Bates County identifies 12 killed in Missouri skydiving crash
A private skydiving plane crashed moments after takeoff from Butler Memorial Airport in missouri on Sunday, killing 12 people. The Bates County Coroner's Office identified the victims on Tuesday, and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash that involved a Skydive Kansas City plane.
Jerret Reno, the Bates County coroner, said on Facebook that the office waited to release the names so families could contact extended relatives. He also asked people to allow time and pray for everyone involved as the investigation will take months to complete and has touched people nationwide.
Butler Memorial Airport crash
The plane was a Pacific Aerospace P750, and the crash happened in Butler, about 60 miles south of Kansas City. Reed, a witness who spoke on CBS Mornings on Monday, said the aircraft was "completely perpendicular with the wings to the sky, to the ground, going fast."
Reed also said, "The ground and trees around it exploded and it just lit up in flames." Another witness told the program that upon impact the plane "completely like shattered with the ground."
Victims from four states
The victims ranged in age from 23 to 69. Five were from Missouri, four were from Kansas, one was from Colorado, and one was from India. Kurt John Roy, a 69-year-old from Windber, Pennsylvania, was among those killed. Windber is in Somerset County.
Reno's office released the names two days after the crash, giving families time before the public list was made available. With the NTSB leading the investigation, the focus now shifts to what caused the plane to go down moments after takeoff and how long the review of the wreckage will take.
