Skydiver’s parachute damages plane’s tail, causing it to crash near Butler, Missouri: FAA
A skydiver’s parachute deployed over a small plane’s tail, causing damage that sent the aircraft out of control and crashing into a field Saturday near the Butler, Missouri, Municipal Airport, a report from the Federal Aviation Administration said.
At the time of the crash, the plane was taking six people on a skydiving mission shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday. During the jump, one of the parachutes deployed over the tail, damaging the horizontal stabilizer, the FAA report said.
The plane went out of control, and the pilot bailed, safely deploying a parachute. The plane, a 1968 Cessna U206C registered to Aerial Transport LLC of Wilmington, Delaware, crashed into a hay field east of the airport’s runways.
The skydivers and pilot were treated at the scene and released, and the plane was a total loss, according to the Bates County Sheriff’s Office. The FAA report indicates that there were no injuries.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash.