An Indian techie was among the 12 victims of a horrific plane crash that occurred on Sunday morning in Missouri. The Bates County Coroner's Office released an official list on Tuesday afternoon identifying Sai Karthik Varma Datla, a 24-year-old man from India, as one of the deceased. The victims, including experienced skydivers, were aboard a 2010 Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed shortly after taking off from Butler Memorial Airport just before 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The plane turned around for an unknown reason before losing control, crashing into a field on airport property and catching fire, killing everyone onboard. Some family members of the victims witnessed the deadly crash.
Aircraft Details
Records indicate that the aircraft, with tail number N221BN, was registered to SkyHi Aero LLC, a Tennessee-based company. The plane was previously used by a Chattanooga skydiving company before being operated by Skydive Kansas City, which rents space at the Butler airport. Skydive Kansas City, which coordinated the flight Sunday, released a statement expressing devastation and offering condolences to the families and the skydiving community.
Victims List
According to the Bates County Department of Emergency Management, the aircraft, a Pacific Aerospace P750XL, was carrying nine experienced skydivers, two tandem jumpers, and a pilot. Sunday's crash is considered one of the deadliest skydiving incidents in the US in decades. The full list of victims includes:
- Kurt John Roy, 69, from Windber, Pennsylvania
- Michael R. Shanahan, 54, from Kansas City, Missouri
- David Hershberger, 54, from Liberty, Missouri
- Sai Karthik Varma Datla, 24, from India
- Matthew Swope, 39, from Independence, Missouri
- Dustin McKinney, 44, from Stilwell, Kansas
- Jennifer L. Sharp, 55, from Grand Junction, Colorado
- Blake Thacker, 25, from Olathe, Kansas
- Marcus Miller, 30, from Lawrence, Kansas
- Nicholas Nash, 40, from Harrisonville, Missouri
- William Fischer, 23, from De Soto, Kansas
- Dane Cordes, 26, from Richmond, Missouri
Background of Sai Karthik Varma Datla
Sai Karthik Varma Datla was from Andhra Pradesh, India. He came to the US for higher education and completed his studies at the University of Central Missouri. He was working at AdventHealth and went for a fun skydiving experience on Sunday.
