12 Dead in Skydiving Plane Crash, Kansas City, 6/14/2026

I wonder what "turned around" means? Did he try the impossible turn to low and fully load with jumpes?

It appears that there a lots of fields all around Butler Airport. So we'll have to see what they find (if anything) in the investigation.
 
I just saw that when I got home a few minutes ago.

KBUM. There was an accident a few years ago where the jump plane was destroyed, but no injuries. I don’t follow that operation too closely and didn’t realize they were back in business.
 
I flew jumpers for a few summers. I considered skydiving, but, never jumped myself...not because I was afraid of the skydiving...but because I was afraid of the other pilots.
 
Tools said:
It was being leased I’m pretty sure. I have several hundred hours in that plane…

Still trying to get details… awful…
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Wow. That's rather a rare bird, at least in the USA. After seeing what remains, I'm sure that the first responders will remember this forever.
 
jesse said:
I flew jumpers for a few summers. I considered skydiving, but, never jumped myself...not because I was afraid of the skydiving...but because I was afraid of the other pilots.
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Sometimes the most dangerous part of skydiving is the ride up.
 
Will be interesting to see if there was any initial mass movement by the jumpers to get out during the event.
 
I did a tandem jump with my wife and a bunch of friends out of Grain Valley, MO many years ago. Once aboard, I remember keeping my eye on my altimeter waiting to get to altitude hoping the plane, which the more I looked around the more rickety-rigged it seemed, would get us high enough to bail if we needed to. Everything went great for us, but just a few days later, that same plane and its same pilot and my tandem partner crash landed and burned to death when an in-flight fire broke out. That put a lump in my throat. My reasoning at the time was "these people don't want to die any more than I do". After seeing just that one operation and hearing about several others that have had incidents, I have to question that assumption.
 
I had 16 jumpers run out as fast as they could, in THAT plane, was barely noticeable.

It’s possible a shift had an impact, hard to say. Doesn’t seem too likely to me.
 
Piloting skydivers is notoriously unsafe. and many of the avid jumpers like psychedelics
 
Tools said:
It was being leased I’m pretty sure. I have several hundred hours in that plane…

Still trying to get details… awful…
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Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation.“


According to flight radar, a Pacific Aerospace 750XL took off from the airport Sunday morning, and reached an altitude of about 13,400 feet before descending for about two minutes at a rapid speed of 227 mph.
 
Clayzz said:
Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation.“


According to flight radar, a Pacific Aerospace 750XL took off from the airport Sunday morning, and reached an altitude of about 13,400 feet before descending for about two minutes at a rapid speed of 227 mph.
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Misleading conclusion. The NTSB said the accident happened around 11:35AM local. The last track on Flightradar 24 ended around 10:50AM local. This track was likely from the flight prior to the accident and the accident flight never got high enough to be tracked. “Sudden turn backs” and descending at high speed are pretty typical for jump profiles.
 
With a light load and cool weather I could get maybe 8 jumpers to 14000 feet and be back on deck and put .2 on the tach. But even on a hot day you could usually get 16 jumpers to 12k and back on deck and log a .3.

I believe it’s the only plane to be designed as a sport jumping plane. It does a lot of other things, but designed for jumping. The main difference is that the pilot can close the jump door from the seat and then come down at VNE, 160 kts. Lot of fun.

I didn’t find it dangerous, but was definitely pretty tactical flying… max gross, slow, hot days, up to 18k frequently, minimum fuel, max performance descent. I started it one day at 9 am… didn’t shut the motor off until 9 pm! Hot pumps, ate in the seat.

Flying 182s… dangerous…
 
Tools said:
With a light load and cool weather I could get maybe 8 jumpers to 14000 feet and be back on deck and put .2 on the tach. But even on a hot day you could usually get 16 jumpers to 12k and back on deck and log a .3.

I believe it’s the only plane to be designed as a sport jumping plane. It does a lot of other things, but designed for jumping. The main difference is that the pilot can close the jump door from the seat and then come down at VNE, 160 kts. Lot of fun.

I didn’t find it dangerous, but was definitely pretty tactical flying… max gross, slow, hot days, up to 18k frequently, minimum fuel, max performance descent. I started it one day at 9 am… didn’t shut the motor off until 9 pm! Hot pumps, ate in the seat.

Flying 182s… dangerous…
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I did similar in the twotter. Fun flying
 
Flying Keys said:
Misleading conclusion. The NTSB said the accident happened around 11:35AM local. The last track on Flightradar 24 ended around 10:50AM local. This track was likely from the flight prior to the accident and the accident flight never got high enough to be tracked. “Sudden turn backs” and descending at high speed are pretty typical for jump profiles.
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Just digging for info-The same type of plane took off earlier Sunday morning for a separate flight. Flight Aware shows the aircraft leaving the airport at 9:20 a.m. and returning about 22 minutes later. It then went back up in the air about an hour later
 
Tools said:
With a light load and cool weather I could get maybe 8 jumpers to 14000 feet and be back on deck and put .2 on the tach. But even on a hot day you could usually get 16 jumpers to 12k and back on deck and log a .3.

I believe it’s the only plane to be designed as a sport jumping plane. It does a lot of other things, but designed for jumping. The main difference is that the pilot can close the jump door from the seat and then come down at VNE, 160 kts. Lot of fun.

I didn’t find it dangerous, but was definitely pretty tactical flying… max gross, slow, hot days, up to 18k frequently, minimum fuel, max performance descent. I started it one day at 9 am… didn’t shut the motor off until 9 pm! Hot pumps, ate in the seat.

Flying 182s… dangerous…
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With this being at least the second turn. What are the chances they forgot to fuel? Didn't see much indication of fire.
 
I didn’t scrub the pics… the one I saw I thought DID have evidence of a fire, so I kinda ruled that out.

If there wasn’t, oh ya, that’s possible. Lots to go wrong… buy the gas in gallons, read it in pounds, dip the tanks in liters…

Typically, just put 55 gallons every third run. Our rule was to land with no less than 150 lbs. Fuel gages accurate on deck, NEVER accurate in flight.

Funny, people ask me how it flies… no clue! Can tell you how it climbs and dives!! Prolly had 200 hrs before I EVER flew it level!
 
What little we know can we guess stall spin impossible turn event?
Crash picture looks a lot like it.
 
bonefishpete said:
What little we know can we guess stall spin impossible turn event?
Crash picture looks a lot like it.
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Often it's the most obvious cause. A glider tow plane crashed a couple of decades back, killing the pilot who I knew. Everyone said he must have had a heart attack. The NTSB said he mishandled an emergency which was not specified. Occam says it was the latter.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Often it's the most obvious cause. A glider tow plane crashed a couple of decades back, killing the pilot who I knew. Everyone said he must have had a heart attack. The NTSB said he mishandled an emergency which was not specified. Occam says it was the latter.
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And that’s a tough pill to swallow. I NEVER get judgy about these things… there but by the grace of God go I.

Do we say act of nature and learn nothing to be “nice”?

Or, non judgmental, engage in hypothetical and ask WHAT might have caused an experienced pilot to lose track of his airspeed, albeit only for a nano second? Position of the banner release? That’s plausible, I’m gonna practice finding that thing with a sammy in my hand while flying along eating… and learn something.
 
Tools said:
Or, non judgmental, engage in hypothetical and ask WHAT might have caused an experienced pilot to lose track of his airspeed, albeit only for a nano second?
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Fear.

Not implying that the pilot was a coward, just that the sudden onset of a life-threatening emergency is quite likely to make the average person freeze. We always like to imagine that we'll be steely-eyed and calm if an emergency happens, but it'll be closer to human nature to be on the edge of panic...and good decisions aren't made there. A few moments frozen, passengers yelling questions, giving way to the natural pilot instinct to pull back on the stick and climb, and there you are.

I don't fault the pilot; none of us know how we'll react until the actual event occurs. At times, I'm *very* happy I fly a single-seat airplane.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Praying for thier loved ones and familes.
 
Tools said:
With a light load and cool weather I could get maybe 8 jumpers to 14000 feet and be back on deck and put .2 on the tach. But even on a hot day you could usually get 16 jumpers to 12k and back on deck and log a .3.

I believe it’s the only plane to be designed as a sport jumping plane. It does a lot of other things, but designed for jumping. The main difference is that the pilot can close the jump door from the seat and then come down at VNE, 160 kts. Lot of fun.

I didn’t find it dangerous, but was definitely pretty tactical flying… max gross, slow, hot days, up to 18k frequently, minimum fuel, max performance descent. I started it one day at 9 am… didn’t shut the motor off until 9 pm! Hot pumps, ate in the seat.

Flying 182s… dangerous…
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My problem with a local operator is the way the disregard entirely any traffic pattern entry as they bomb steeply on the downwind, in a low-wing, with high-wing trainers in the pattern beneath them. About half the time, they manage to remember to swtich back from approach frequency to CTAF, but only so they can use CTAF as their operations frequency.
Absolute clowns.
 
Tools said:
I had 16 jumpers run out as fast as they could, in THAT plane, was barely noticeable. It’s possible a shift had an impact, hard to say. Doesn’t seem too likely to me.
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In the incident I'm familiar with the difference was in your example it was an organized, steady stream of people leaving vs everyone in panic mode piles up at the door which put the aircraft into rocket mode and stalled it.
 
Zborder said:
My problem with a local operator is the way the disregard entirely any traffic pattern entry as they bomb steeply on the downwind, in a low-wing, with high-wing trainers in the pattern beneath them. About half the time, they manage to remember to swtich back from approach frequency to CTAF, but only so they can use CTAF as their operations frequency.
Absolute clowns.
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Depends on the PIC. They get to decide how that happens. Having worked a couple drop zones that’s my takeaway.
 
Pretty curious about this one. The airplane involved was used at the local skydiving operation here for a long time that @Tools is familiar with. It was apparently either sold or leased to this company in Butler just recently.

Very sad news.
 
RyanB said:
Pretty curious about this one. The airplane involved was used at the local skydiving operation here for a long time that @Tools is familiar with. It was apparently either sold or leased to this company in Butler just recently.

Very sad news.
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A photo I've seen circulating online today appears to show a deployed parachute extending from the wreckage. I don't know enough about skydiving operations to comment, but could that be a clue?
 
Oooph… well, something like that is a certain possibility. Door usually opened for cooling about 1000 agl.
 
midwestpa24 said:
A photo I've seen circulating online today appears to show a deployed parachute extending from the wreckage. I don't know enough about skydiving operations to comment, but could that be a clue?
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I believe someone familiar with the operation said engine issues. But a loosed parachute in a flying plane has certainly created havoc in the past.
 
Zborder said:
My problem with a local operator is the way the disregard entirely any traffic pattern entry as they bomb steeply on the downwind, in a low-wing, with high-wing trainers in the pattern beneath them. About half the time, they manage to remember to swtich back from approach frequency to CTAF, but only so they can use CTAF as their operations frequency.
Absolute clowns.
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FSDO.
 
Look carefully in the background… a whole new perspective… oooph…

This is a screenshot capture from a video that local news aired apparently. I believe that’s looking due east…

1782365881362.png
 
Are we being instructed to look at that large vertical piece of something above the picnic table... appears to be airborne? Did it just fly by the scene of the crash?
 
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