Preliminary report didn’t flag an engine failure before a skydiving plane crash that killed 12

BUTLER, Mo. (AP) — A preliminary report issued by federal safety investigators did not flag any serious safety failures that could have led to the fiery crash of a plane last month on a skydiving outing in Missouri that killed all 12 people aboard, including several very experienced jumpers.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report Thursday based on inspections of the wreckage. The report said it found no indication of any pre-crash mechanical malfunctions or failures in the engine that would have prevented the normal operation of the plane.

The federal agency also said a post-accident sample from the fuel truck found the fuel to be free of sediment or debris, and a review of the skydiving business operators’ software showed that the airplane had met the weight and balance limitations for the flight.

The airplane was not equipped with a crashworthy voice or data recorder, like those that record flight data on commercial planes, nor was it required to be, investigators said. The NTSB report did note, however, that its investigators had recovered damaged GoPro cameras from the wreckage.

The federal agency’s investigation into the accident was ongoing, and a final report often takes a year or more to complete.

The June 14 crash happened about an hour south of Kansas City, when the plane carrying a pilot and 11 skydivers took off from Butler Memorial Airport at 11:25 a.m. on a clear day.

During the initial climb, the airplane began a gradual turn to the left, with both wings eventually becoming almost perpendicular to the ground before it slammed into a field, nose down, and burst into flames, investigators said.

The fire inflicted significant damage to the aircraft’s major structural components, as well as the cockpit, the cabin and the fuel system, investigators said.

Some family members of those who died were at the airport to watch the jump and witnessed the crash, authorities said. The United States Parachute Association, skydiving’s governing body, said its technology director, Jen Sharp, was among those killed.

The day of the crash, Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, said he thought the plane was losing power and that the pilot had been trying to land on the nearby highway before it crashed.

The plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, which called the crash a “devastating loss.”

Poor maintenance is often a factor when skydiving planes crash and the NTSB has previously raised concerns about the weak oversight for skydiving operators in past crash investigations. The 2019 crash that killed 11 people in Hawaii that the FAA’s regulatory system isn’t strong enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to adopt the NTSB’s recommendations, but said it established a committee in April that will recommend ways to increase skydiving safety and will consider the safety board’s proposals.

The United States Parachute Association said that Skydive Kansas City 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. The association said that last year nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed and that 16 civilians died, the majority from human error.

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 (1,800 kilograms) and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways, according to the manufacturer.

The single-engine turboprop plane was built in 2010, according to FAA records. It made nine successful flights in the days before the crash, including two on Sunday morning, according to FlightAware, a digital flight tracking company.

Investigators said the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate and had accumulated over 4,100 total flight hours. This year was the pilot’s second consecutive jump season working for Skydive Kansas City, the NTSB said.

Skydive Kansas City reported no prior concerns with the pilot, investigators said, calling him safety-oriented and conservative with his decision making as a jump pilot.