A plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed in a field and was engulfed in flames Sunday, killing all aboard, authorities said. The crash happened shortly after the plane took off from a local airport around 11:30 a.m., and some of the occupants’ family members witnessed the crash, said Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.

Investigation Underway

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were also on scene Sunday afternoon, Anderson said, and a team from the National Transportation Safety Board was en route. The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director.

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed is a model that’s popular for skydiving and also has proven useful for carrying cargo, aerial surveying and medical evacuation flights. The aircraft can carry more than 4,000 pounds and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways, according to the manufacturer.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said poor maintenance has been a factor in a number of previous skydiving plane crashes because these companies are not held to a high standard under FAA rules. Guzzetti said skydiving companies are governed by the same rules any private plane owner has to follow and not the more stringent rules that charter flight operators and airlines adhere to.

Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.