KC-area orchestra teacher, trumpeter among 12 who died in skydiving plane crash
Local brass musician and longtime skydiver David Hershberger was among the 12 individuals who died in this weekend’s fatal SkyDive Kansas City plane crash in Butler, Missouri, a family member confirmed with The Star.
Hershberger lived in Gladstone and taught orchestra at Oak Park High School and Antioch Middle School in the North Kansas City School District, the district confirmed, playing the trumpet in his spare time.
The principals of both schools jointly sent an email to Antioch and Oak Park families Monday describing Hershberger as “not only a passionate educator and talented musician, but one of the kindest humans.” “Mr. Hershberger has inspired so many of our students through his love for music and the way he treated others every day,” the email read. “He modeled appreciation and genuine care for everyone who was lucky enough to know him.”
Hershberger, who was in his early fifties, built a 30-year career from his love of music, earning a master’s degree in instrumental music education from Wichita State University in 1999.
He had been at NKC Schools since 2015 but had taught band and orchestra, along with brass instrument clinics, at several local programs, including at the Sunrise Christian Academy and the Village Music Academy. He was also previously a substitute teacher in the Blue Valley School District.
As a trumpeter, Hershberger was a member of the Kansas City Wind Symphony, a selective concert group based in Prairie Village. He had played trumpet with several other symphonies, including the Wichita Professional Wind Ensemble, Mid-Kansas Symphony, Opera in the Ozarks and The Polished Brass Quintet.
The crash that killed Hershberger and 10 other skydivers, plus the pilot, was reported around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The plane, affiliated with Skydive KC, stalled shortly after taking off from Butler Memorial Airport, about an hour south of Kansas City. Local, state and federal officials are investigating what caused the crash.
Hershberger had been jumping out of planes for upwards of 15 years. Skydive KC had featured him in multiple promotional photos for their Advanced Freefall Program — some of which Hershberger reshared — for at least five years before his death.
Some of these pictures showed Hershberger leading tandem skydives, strapped directly to a parachute in a branded Skydive KC helmet with a variety of people in street clothes strapped to his chest.
Hershberger was from Topeka, Kansas, where he graduated from Seaman High School in 1990. Social media profiles indicate that he was unwed at the time of his death and did not have any children. He is survived by two brothers.
The Kansas City Wind Symphony was not immediately available to comment.
The North Kansas City School District will be offering drop-in counseling on Tuesday at Antioch from 9 a.m. to noon.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 3:15 PM.
