A teacher, a cancer survivor and a new dad: victims of Missouri skydiving plane crash identified

At least four of the victims were about to make their final jumps before becoming skydiving instructors, KMBC said. Among them was Will Fischer, 23.

“Nothing can describe the grief I feel … To my annoying little brother, I will miss you forever,” his sister posted on Facebook, according to the Kansas City Star.

Fischer’s friend Kevin Stone, a skydiving instructor in Chicago with whom he made his first jump, told the newspaper he took a group up on Monday in the same type of plane that crashed in Missouri.

“I was breathing a little bit heavier on my first couple loads today [but] I think that if this stopped me from jumping today, Will would be insulted,” Stone said.

“I think that he would consider that an insult to his memory. This was the thing that he loved.”

Other victims were identified as Marcus Miller, also an experienced jumper; and Jen Sharp, who was director of technology for the US Parachute Association, a 41,000-member group for skydiving enthusiasts.

“Jen was a remarkable force whose passion for the skies was matched only by her dedication to the people in our sport,” the group’s executive director, Albert Berchtold, said in a tribute on its website.

“Her loss leaves an unfillable void in our office, our community, and our hearts. We are incredibly grateful for the years of laughter, innovation, and friendship we shared with her.”

KMBC gave the names of Nick Nash, Mike Shanahan, Dane Cordes, and Dustin McKinney, among the other victims.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the cause of the crash was continuing on Tuesday, with preliminary findings expected in the coming weeks. A full report was not expected until at least 2027.

The Associated Press reported that the NTSB has said in past investigations that weak oversight of the skydiving industry can allow problems with poor aircraft maintenance to go unnoticed.

The agency also cited an incident from the same Butler airport in May 2024 in which six skydivers and a pilot safely parachuted from a plane that went on to crash with nobody left on board.

The NTSB said after a 2019 crash that killed 11 people in Hawaii, that the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulatory system was not robust enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights.

In the crash on the island of Oahu, investigators found that the wing of the plane was twisted during a previous incident several years earlier and was never repaired.

The Associated Press contributed reporting