It’s ‘too early’ to pinpoint cause of fatal Butler plane crash, investigators say
Federal investigators were on the ground in Butler, Missouri, on Monday to piece together what caused a skydiving plane to crash and kill 12 people about an hour drive south of Kansas City.
During a news briefing Monday afternoon, Michael Graham, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, cautioned that it was too early to tell what led up to the crash.
“We will not speculate on anything at this point,” Graham told reporters.
The fatal crash has rocked the small Missouri city as state, local and federal officials comb through evidence to pinpoint its cause. The plane crashed while taking off at Butler Memorial Airport around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. All occupants — eleven skydivers and the pilot — were killed.
The NTSB oversees investigations into aviation incidents across the country and its investigation will determine what likely caused the crash. The agency will also make recommendations to prevent “future tragedies like this from happening again,” Graham said.
“Our investigators will be looking at three distinct things during our investigation: one is the human, the other is the vehicle and the third is the environment,” he said. “This is the beginning of a long process and we will not be determining what happened overnight.”
The federal agency will release a preliminary report about its findings within 30 days, Graham said. The full investigation, which includes picking up evidence from the scene, could take 12 to 18 months, he said.
Graham urged anyone with photos, videos or information about the crash to email the federal agency at witness@ntsb.gov.
Inside the investigation
Despite the dearth of information, Graham provided reporters with several details about the plane involved in the crash.
The aircraft was manufactured in 2010 by New Zealand-based Pacific Aerospace and was registered to a company called Sky High Arrow LLC, which is based out of Jasper, Tennessee, Graham said.
The plane’s engine was manufactured by the Canadian-based manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
Graham said that federal investigators did not yet know whether the plane had a flight data recorder — often called a black box — on board.
During Monday’s briefing, local and national reporters asked a slew of questions about what might have caused the crash, including potential mechanical problems, flight path issues, the plane’s altitude, and whether the agency was concerned about a lack of regulations.
In response to most questions, Graham said it was too early to tell.
“We will be looking at everything possible out there … loading, fueling, maintenance, and everything like that and any open issues on the aircraft it might have had,” Graham said. “But it’s just too early at this point and it’d be pure speculation.”
Graham largely repeated that answer in response to other questions, including whether the plane had experienced engine failure.
“We can’t speculate on what happened at this point,” he said. “But we are accumulating information and we will try to verify that as soon as possible.”
