Emergency personnel investigate the site of a plane crash at the Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Mo., Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

BUTLER, Mo. - 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 

#click2houston   #crimewatchhouston