24-Year-Old Indian Techie Among 11 Skydivers Killed In Missouri Plane Crash

Sai Karthik Varma Datla had a master's degree in computer science from the University of Central Missouri and worked in the healthcare technology sector

17 Jun 2026, 07:57 · NDTV

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A 24-year-old Indian techie died in a Missouri skydiving plane crash
Sai Karthik Varma Datla was the only Indian among 12 killed in the accident
The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Butler Memorial Airport

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A 24-year-old Indian techie was among the 12 people who were killed after a skydiving aircraft crashed in Missouri, United States, authorities said. Sai Karthik Varma Datla was identified as the only Indian among the casualties in the crash at Butler Memorial Airport in Bates County, around 80 miles south of Kansas City.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Datla was a technology professional based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. He had a master's degree in computer science from the University of Central Missouri and worked in the healthcare technology sector.

His profile showed he was currently employed with AdventHealth and had previously worked at Capgemini. Datla had worked on cloud migration, automation and software deployment projects, building a career after moving to the US for higher studies.

The United States Parachute Association, skydiving's governing body, said its technology director, Jen Sharp, was also among those killed in the crash.

About The Crash

Datla, including several experienced skydivers, was flying in a 2010 Pacific Aerospace 750XL when it crashed shortly after taking off from Butler Memorial Airport just before 11:30 am Sunday. Federal investigators said all 12 people on the plane, including a pilot and 11 skydivers, were killed when the aircraft slammed into a field and burst into flames.

Soon after the takeoff, the plane turned around for an unknown reason and lost control, crashing into a field on the airport property. Witnesses say the plane was roughly 100 feet (30 metres) from the ground when it made an abrupt left turn before crashing.

It appeared to be losing power, and the pilot may have been trying to reach a highway to land when the plane stalled and went down nose-first, said Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager of Butler Memorial Airport.

No Black Box In Plane

On Monday, US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Michael Graham said investigators are interviewing all the witnesses and gathering photos and videos of the crash, and it's too early to say definitively what happened.

The plane didn't have a "black box" like those that record crash data on commercial planes, but investigators will look for other kinds of devices that could provide insights, he said.

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL -- a single-engine turboprop plane -- is a popular model in skydiving because it's designed for the sport and can quickly take parachutists to jumping altitudes while using short runways.

This particular aircraft, built in 2010, made nine successful flights in the days before the crash, including two on Sunday morning, according to FlightAware, a digital flight tracking company.

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