Fourteen Reported Killed, At Least Half Were Children

At a Monday morning press conference, Acting NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker told reporters the pilot of a Pilatus PC-12 that crashed Sunday adjacent to Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) gave "no indication of any trouble" prior to the crash.

Air traffic controllers say the single-engine turboprop aircraft was on a routine IFR flight, with no immediate reports of deviations or other signs of difficulties. The aircraft had been handed off to the local traffic frequency at BTM prior to the crash.

The last communication from the plane was a callout on the BTM common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), advising the PC-12 was on final approach to runway 33, Rosenker added. Witness accounts suggest the pilot may have been attempting to go around when the crash occurred; Rosenker noted one who stated the plane was about 300 feet in the air, displaced to the side of the runway, when it suddenly nosed over "between 90 and 95 degrees" and impacted the ground.

The aircraft crashed in a cemetery about 500 feet west of the runway, shy of midfield. The wreckage is consistent with a high-speed impact, with little to no large segments of the airframe remaining and the debris field confined to within 100 feet of the impact zone.

Weather does not appear to have been a factor, with moderate winds, 10 miles visibility, a wide temperature/dewpoint spread and no precipitation at BTM at the time of the accident. Similar conditions were noted at Bozeman, the plane's intended destination; as ANN reported Sunday, the pilot diverted en route to Butte for as-yet unknown reasons.

The FAA and NTSB have also revised the casualty count from the accident, stating one pilot and 13 passengers were onboard. Of those passengers, at least half were said to the children, though their ages are unspecified at this time.

The accident flight originated in Redlands, CA, with stops in Vacaville and Oroville. The aircraft refueled in Oroville at around 11 am, Police Chief Kirk Trostle told The Associated Press.

The aircraft was inflight for approximately 2.5 hours before the crash. A PC-12 typically accommodates between 7-10 adult passengers, including pilot(s), depending on interior configuration.

Reports the plane was chartered for a youth skiing trip remain unconfirmed at this time.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.faa.gov