Eleven skydivers and their pilot died in a fiery plane crash Sunday in Missouri after the aircraft made a sudden turn midair and plummeted into a field.

The private plane had left Butler Memorial Airport around 11:30 a.m. local time before turning around for an unknown reason near Business 49 Highway, and then crashing into a fireball shortly after.

Everyone on board the single-engine turboprop plane perished, and some of the occupants’ family members heartbreakingly witnessed the crash, according to Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson. 

Skydive Kansas City confirmed in a statement to KCTV that the fatal crash involved one of its skydiving operations

“This is a devastating loss for everyone connected to Skydive Kansas City and for the wider skydiving community,” the company stated. “Our deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and loved ones of all who were lost.”

It was not clear if any skydivers may have jumped from the doomed plane before it crashed.

Emergency responders put out the flaming wreckage after the crash. 

Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, described the scene as “brutal.”

“It had just taken off and made a left turn,” Jacobs told Associated Press.

 “In my opinion, I think it was losing power, and [the pilot] was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board scrambled to the scene to begin investigating.

“At this time, the focus of the management and ownership team is to assist investigators and to support the staff and the broader skydiving community,” Skydive Kansas City said. 

“The entire team is in shock, and the community is close-knit.”

All lanes on Business 49 Highway were closed close to the airport while crews worked to clear the wreckage and determine its cause, Bates County Sheriff’s Office said.

With Post wires