A plane carrying 11 skydivers and a pilot crashed moments after takeoff at a western Missouri airport on Sunday, killing everyone aboard, authorities said. The plane had just taken off from Butler Memorial Airport about 11:35 a.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said, when it was unable to get visual altitude, made a sharp left turn and crashed about 300 yards from the runway.

Investigation Underway

The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, but it appears to be an accident, Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said during a news conference Sunday afternoon. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have been notified, and investigators are expected to arrive at the scene of the crash on Monday to begin the process of documenting the crash site and examining the plane.

The victims have not been publicly identified, as some families had not been notified of the incident. Some family members witnessed the crash, Anderson said during the news conference. Nine of the victims were experienced skydivers, while two were going to participate in tandem jumps.

Travis Phippen, who said he lost several friends in the crash, described the incident as “heartbreaking.” “The skydiving community is incredibly close-knit, and several of the people on that plane had a profound impact on countless lives—including my own,” he said.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.