“THEY WAITED FOR THE JUMP OF A LIFETIME… IT NEVER CAME.” Skydiving Plane Carrying 12 People Crashes Before a Single Passenger Could Leap — As Families Watched from Below, One Heartbreaking Twist Has Left the Nation Searching for Answers !!What should have been a day of excitement and unforgettable memories reportedly turned into an unimaginable tragedy when a skydiving plane carrying 12 people crashed before a single passenger could make the leap.

Twelve people have died after a skydiving plane crashed near an airport in Missouri.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that the crash took place near the Butler Memorial Airport, located about 65 miles outside Kansas City, just after 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, June 14.

Officials from Bates County Emergency Management told CNN and FOX4 that the plane was unable to gain altitude after takeoff and made a sharp left turn before crashing about 300 yards from the runway.

Eleven passengers and one pilot were on board. There were no traffic services at the time of the crash, the FAA said.

The aircraft — identified by the FAA as a Pacific Aerospace P750, a single-engine turboprop plane — was operated by Skydive Kansas City, the outlets reported.

“This is a devastating loss for everyone connected to Skydive Kansas City and 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 part in a press release shared with PEOPLE, adding that it was working with local and federal authorities amid the investigation into the crash.

“In my opinion, I think [the plane] 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,” Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, told the Associated Press.

“They weren’t able to get over 100 feet off the ground,” Jacobs added to USA Today, noting that the weather was very clear. “It very likely will be an engine problem, but we won’t know until the [National Transportation Safety Board] report.”

Skydive Kansas City said in its press release that it is a U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) Group Member Dropzone in good standing.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing told AP that the plane was taking its passengers up to skydive at the time of the crash.

Nine of the 11 skydivers were experienced, and two were participating in tandem jumps, Jacobs told USA Today. Many of the witnesses on the ground were loved ones of the people on board.

“One lady who was there was watching her brother [on the plane], and his wife was there, too, and she was supposed to be on the plane with them,” Jacobs told the outlet.

Jacobs said the victims’ identities have not yet been made public while their families are being notified.

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Emergency personnel learned from a caller that the plane was engulfed in flames and was in a field near the regional airport. Ewing said that some roads in the area would be closed as first responders continue to work at the scene.

“[The plane] landed in a field adjacent to the airport, but I think they’re shutting down the roadway just as a precaution,” Ewing told AP.

State police troopers, officers from the Butler Police Department and deputies from the Bates County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and are assisting with the crash investigation, the outlets reported.

Teams from the NTSB and the FAA were en route to the crash site, the Missouri State Patrol said on X. Both agencies are set to investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation, the FAA told PEOPLE.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the NTSB said its investigators are expected to arrive on scene on Monday, June 15.

“On scene, investigators will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft,” the agency said. “Part of the investigation will be to request radar data, weather information, maintenance records and the pilot’s medical records. NTSB investigators will look at the human, machine and environment as the outline of the investigation.”

“During the on-scene phase of the investigative process, the NTSB does not determine or speculate about the cause of the accident,” the NTSB added.