A preliminary report on a skydiving plane crash in Missouri that killed 12 people, including several experienced jumpers, did not flag any serious safety failures. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued the report based on inspections of the wreckage.

Crash Details

The plane, a Pacific Aerospace 750XL, crashed on June 14 about an hour south of Kansas City, after taking off from Butler Memorial Airport. The pilot, who held a commercial pilot certificate with over 4,100 total flight hours, was among those killed. The United States Parachute Association said its technology director, Jen Sharp, was also among the victims.

The NTSB report found no indication of pre-crash mechanical malfunctions or failures in the engine that would have prevented the normal operation of the plane. The fuel truck that serviced the plane was also found to have clean fuel, and the skydiving business operators’ software showed that the airplane had met the weight and balance limitations for the flight.

The plane was not equipped with a crashworthy voice or data recorder, but investigators recovered damaged GoPro cameras from the wreckage. The NTSB’s investigation into the accident is ongoing, and a final report may take a year or more to complete.

Safety Concerns

Poor maintenance is often a factor in skydiving plane crashes, and the NTSB has previously raised concerns about the weak oversight of skydiving operators. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to adopt the NTSB’s recommendations to increase skydiving safety.

The United States Parachute Association said that Skydive Kansas City, the operator of the plane, adheres to the safety standards set by the largest skydiving organization in the world, including all FAA maintenance requirements. The skydiving industry says it has a strong safety record, with nearly 3.5 million jumps completed last year and 16 civilian deaths, mostly due to human error.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.