Investigators are sifting through the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in Missouri on Sunday, as witnesses describe the aircraft's deadly descent.
The crash occurred near Butler at about 11:20 local time (16:20 GMT), when a skydiving plane carrying 11 passengers and a pilot spun out of control and plunged to the ground, killing everyone on board. The victims have not yet been publicly identified.
A spokesperson for the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told the BBC that investigators would visit the crash site on Monday.
Bailey Reed, who witnessed the crash, told the BBC's US partner CBS News the plane was "completely perpendicular" and "going fast" as it slammed into the ground.
"They didn't have time to jump," Reed said.
"They were so low to the ground, the parachutes wouldn't have deployed, and there was no way anyone could have jumped and survived that."
Charles Crinklaw, a regular sky diver in Kansas City – located roughly 50 miles (80km) north of Butler – told local news: "Everybody on that plane was somebody that I know."
"I know four of them very, very well. They jumped with me [at Falcon Skydiving] on a regular basis," he said, speaking to a Kansas City NBC News affiliate.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane was a Pacific Aerospace P750 and crashed while departing the airport.
NTSB vice-chairman Michael Graham offered additional details during a news conference on Monday afternoon, saying the plane crashed on airport grounds shortly after take-off.
"A post-crash fire ensued and destroyed the aircraft," he said.
Investigators on the scene were documenting the wreckage and gathering perishable evidence to remove to a secure site for analysis, Graham said.
However, not all investigators had arrived "due to some logistical problems we've had with the World Cup in Kansas City", he said.
"This is the beginning of a long process," Graham said. "We will not be determining what happens overnight."
He estimated a preliminary report would be available within 30 days and a full investigative report would arrive in around 12 to 18 months.
Skydive Kansas City, the company that runs the skydiving operation in the region, called the incident a "devastating loss" for "the wider skydiving community".
"Our deepest sympathies are with the families, friends and loved ones of all who were lost," the company said in a statement to the BBC.
It said it was working closely with the FAA and the NTSB as the federal agencies investigate the incident.
The FAA said the plane had not been using its air traffic services at the time, explaining that it was not required to be in communication because of the type of airspace it was flying within.
The incident occurred on Monday morning while the aircraft had been on a routine test mission.
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The plane had just taken off in the US state of Missouri, but failed to gain altitude, according to local emergency responders.
A statement says "significant progress" has been made into investigating the crash, in which 260 people died a year ago.
Family members of victims visited the crash site, carrying portraits of the loved ones they lost last year.
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