Parachute Mishap Downs Plane — 12 Dead

A skydiving plane crashed near Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri on Sunday, killing all 12 people on board — and early evidence points to a freak accident where a parachute brought down the plane before anyone could jump.

Story Snapshot

All 12 people aboard — 11 skydivers and the pilot — died when their plane crashed near Butler Memorial Airport in Bates County, Missouri.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says a skydiver’s parachute deployed early, struck the plane’s tail, and damaged the horizontal stabilizer, causing the pilot to lose control.
The crash happened around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 14, and the plane went down in a hay field near the airport.
Federal investigators are on the scene, and the full official cause will not be confirmed until the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) completes its investigation.

What Happened Near Butler, Missouri

A small plane carrying 11 skydivers and a pilot took off from Butler Memorial Airport, about 65 miles south of Kansas City. The flight was a routine skydiving run on a sunny Sunday morning. It never returned. The plane crashed into a hay field near the airport at approximately 11:30 a.m., and Bates County Emergency Management confirmed all 12 people on board were killed. ^[4]

The aircraft was a Cessna U206, a small single-engine plane commonly used for skydiving operations. Wreckage was found twisted in the field near the airport. Local emergency crews and federal investigators responded quickly to the scene. U.S. Representative Mark Alford, who represents the Bates County area, also addressed the crash publicly as the community began to process the tragedy. ^[8]

A Parachute May Have Brought the Plane Down

The FAA released an early account of what likely caused the crash. According to the agency, one of the skydivers accidentally deployed a parachute while still inside the aircraft. The parachute flew out over the tail of the plane and struck the horizontal stabilizer — the part of the tail that helps control the aircraft’s pitch. That damage caused the pilot to lose control, and the plane went down. ^[1]

Aviation safety records add more detail. The first jumper reportedly scraped his emergency parachute handle while moving toward the jump door, triggering the accidental deployment. Once the parachute hit the stabilizer, the pilot had no way to recover the aircraft. The sequence happened fast, leaving no time to correct course. ^[6]

Investigation Still Underway — Final Cause Not Yet Official

The FAA’s early account gives a clear picture, but the NTSB has the final word on any aviation accident. Investigators examine wreckage, maintenance records, weather data, and witness accounts before issuing an official probable cause. Early reports in aviation accidents can shift as more evidence comes in, so the FAA account should be treated as a strong lead, not a final ruling. ^[5]

A plane carrying passengers for skydiving crashed in Missouri on Sunday, killing all 12 people aboard, according to authorities. In a statement, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that the crash occurred near the Butler Memorial Airport.https://t.co/UKVxPW0UEL

— WLOS (@WLOS_13) June 14, 2026

What is not in dispute is the human toll. Twelve families lost someone on a Sunday morning that started as a fun day of skydiving. The community in Butler and across Bates County is mourning. Federal investigators continue working the crash site to make sure the full story is told and lessons are learned to prevent future tragedies in general aviation and skydiving operations. ^[7]