What we know

• ■Aircraft: Pacific Aerospace 750XL, registration N221BN, single PT6A-34 turboprop. Operator: Skydive Kansas City, a local parachute jump flight under Part 91 from and to Butler Memorial Airport (BUM). Operating certificate held: none.1
• ■Date, time and place: 14 June 2026, about 11:25 CDT (16:25 UTC), on Butler Memorial Airport property, about 445 ft west of the south end of the operator's landing zone. Visual meteorological conditions, daylight. KLRY, 19 nm away, at 16:15 UTC: KLRY 141615Z AUTO 36010G15KT 10SM CLR 23/12 A3013.1
• ■On board: the pilot and 11 passengers, all parachutists. All 12 were killed. The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed the deaths.2
• ■Sequence: the first two jump flights that morning (09:20 and 10:32) were completed normally. After refuelling, the third flight took off from runway 36 at 11:25. Security video shows a gradual left turn in the initial climb that continued until the wings were about perpendicular to the ground, followed by a nose-down impact and post-impact fire.1
• ■Findings so far: all major structural components were at the site. Engine contact signatures are characteristic of the engine producing power at impact, with no preimpact malfunction found. Fuel samples were clean before and after the accident. The drop zone software shows the flight within weight and balance limits (MTOW 7,500 lb); the pilot's clipboard with load and fuel notes was not found.1
• ■Evidence: no ADS-B or track data exists for the flight. The aircraft had no crash-resistant voice or data recorder and none was required. Damaged GoPro cameras went to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory; both direct aileron cables went to the NTSB Materials Laboratory.1
• ■Investigation: the NTSB leads (Class 2, investigator-in-charge Michael Hodges). Participants include the FAA, New Zealand's TAIC with NZAero, Canada's TSB with Pratt & Whitney Canada, Germany's BFU with MT Propeller, and the operator. TAIC appointed an accredited representative.1
• ■Crew and operator: the pilot held a commercial certificate with instrument rating, had over 4,100 hours and was in his second jump season with the operator. Revenue parachute jump flights under Part 91 need no FAA operating certificate, operations specifications or FAA-approved training and maintenance programmes.1
• ■Earlier 750XL accidents: at Grenchen, Switzerland, on 18 February 2024 (HB-TCP), the SUST found a skydiver's inadvertently deployed reserve struck and detached the horizontal tail; the pilot, without a parachute, was killed. This finding says nothing about the Butler cause.8
• ■Earlier 750XL accident: in Nepal in February 2016 an Air Kasthamandap 750XL (9N-AJB) made a forced landing after power loss; both pilots died and all nine passengers survived. The official probe found a damaged engine bearing.9

Not yet known

• ■The cause of the crash has not been determined. The preliminary report is subject to change and gives no probable cause.1
• ■What the recovered GoPro footage shows, and the results of the aileron cable examination, have not been published.1
• ■Timing of the final report: the NTSB aims to complete investigations within 12 to 24 months; the final report will state the probable cause and any safety recommendations.10

Timeline

1. 14 Jun 2026
   07:30 CDT: fuel sample from the operator's fuel truck is clean; the pilot completes the preflight and posts winds aloft for the loads.1
2. 14 Jun 2026
   09:20 CDT: first jump flight with the pilot and 9 parachutists; jumps completed, aircraft lands at BUM.1
3. 14 Jun 2026
   10:32 CDT: second jump flight with the pilot and 10 parachutists; jumps completed, aircraft lands at BUM.1
4. 14 Jun 2026
   10:55 CDT: 15 gallons of Jet A added to the left tank and 45 gallons to the right tank.1
5. 14 Jun 2026
   11:25 CDT (16:25 UTC): third flight departs runway 36, turns left in the initial climb and hits a grass field on airport property.1
6. 14 Jun 2026
   The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirms 12 dead. The FAA says air traffic services were not being provided at the time.2
7. 14 Jun 2026
   NTSB spokesperson Jennifer Gabris says investigators will arrive on Monday and request radar, weather, maintenance and pilot medical records.3
8. 16 Jun 2026
   The Bates County Coroner releases the names of the 12 victims.4
9. 2 Jul 2026
   The NTSB preliminary report is released: no preimpact engine malfunction, flight within weight and balance limits.5
10. 7 Jul 2026
    TAIC lists its inquiry AO-2026-005 in support of the NTSB investigation as in progress.6

All articles in this dossier

Sources

1. 1NTSB · Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report CEN26FA224 (N221BN, Butler, MO) · 2 Jul 2026
2. 2ABC News · 12 killed in plane crash near Missouri airport, authorities say · 14 Jun 2026
3. 3KCUR · 12 dead in Sunday morning plane crash in Butler, Missouri · 14 Jun 2026
4. 4FOX4 Kansas City · Victims identified in Butler, Missouri plane crash that killed 11 skydivers, 1 pilot · 16 Jun 2026
5. 5KY3 · NTSB report: Plane from Butler crash that killed 12 completed successful flights earlier that day · 2 Jul 2026
6. 6TAIC · AO-2026-005 PAC750XL, fatal crash, Butler, Missouri, USA · 7 Jul 2026
7. 7Iowa Environmental Mesonet · METAR archive KLRY, 14 June 2026 · 14 Jun 2026
8. 8SUST (Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board) · Final Report No. 2433, PAC 750XL HB-TCP, Grenchen aerodrome, 18 February 2024 · 14 Jan 2026
9. 9The Kathmandu Post · Air Kasthamandap crash caused by engine failure: Probe report · 18 Sep 2016
10. 10NTSB · The Investigative Process · 5 Nov 2026