Some of the skydivers killed in Missouri plane crash were experienced jumpers

BUTLER , Mo. — Several of the skydivers killed when their plane crashed moments after taking off from a Missouri airfield had jumped before and they belonged to a community with a unique bond, one friend said.

The plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers crashed in a field and burst into flames Sunday, killing all on board, authorities said.

Some family members of those who died were at the airport to watch the jump and witnessed the crash, said Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.

Kevin Payne, who had jumped with seven of the skydivers on the plane, said they were all different in almost every way, except that they were all brought together as a “sky family.”

“There is a joy and peace and freedom to what we do. That’s what most people never understand,” Payne, of Parkville, Missouri , wrote in an email. “It’s not about the adrenaline. It’s about really flying together with your family in that brief, exquisite instant that people who live their lives on the ground will never understand.”

While the exact cause of the crash won’t be clear for a year or more until the National Transportation Safety Board publishes its final report, weather did not appear to be a factor.

PHOTOS: Some of the skydivers killed in Missouri plane crash were experienced jumpers

Skydiving plane went down soon after taking off

Witnesses say the plane was roughly 100 feet from the ground when it made an abrupt left turn before crashing.

It appeared to be losing power, and the pilot may have been trying to reach a highway to land when the plane stalled and went down nose first, said Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager of Butler Memorial Airport.

The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City , he said. The crash site in the small town of Butler is roughly 65 miles south of Kansas City.

Plane made multiple flights over the weekend

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL - a single-engine turboprop plane - is a popular model in skydiving because it’s designed for the sport and can quickly take parachutists to jumping altitudes while using short runways.

This particular plane, which was built in 2010, had made nine successful flights in the days before the crash, including two on Sunday morning, according to FlightAware, a digital flight tracking company.

Red flags raised about skydiving oversight

Federal investigators have voiced concerns about weak oversight for skydiving operators in past crash investigations, citing the need for stronger aircraft inspections. The NTSB said after a crash killed 11 people in Hawaii that the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory system isn’t strong enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights.

The United States Parachute Association, the sport’s governing body, said in a statement after Sunday’s crash that “a loss of this magnitude is felt profoundly across the entire sport.”

The group said Skydive Kansas City adheres to the safety standards set by the largest skydiving organization in the world, including all maintenance requirements established by the FAA.

The skydiving industry says it has a strong safety record. The association said that last year nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed and that 16 civilians died, the majority from human error.

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Bussewitz reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

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