{"id":3189,"date":"2026-06-20T19:35:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T19:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3189"},"modified":"2026-06-20T19:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T19:35:57","slug":"fatal-missouri-skydiving-plane-crash-renews-concerns-about-safety-loophole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3189","title":{"rendered":"Fatal Missouri skydiving plane crash renews concerns about safety loophole"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>In April 2025, when a sightseeing helicopter plunged into New York City\u2019s Hudson River, killing five Spanish tourists and a pilot, federal investigators immediately cited the need for tougher safety standards for commercial air tours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3187\">Small spaces, big dreams: How the World Cup is spawning \u2018mini-pitches\u2019 across New England<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Most sightseeing airplanes and helicopters face less scrutiny from safety regulators than air taxis or charter flights do, National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said a day after that crash.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They undergo fewer safety inspections. They don\u2019t need to carry black-box crash recorders. And they don\u2019t need to maintain systems for spotting and fixing safety problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cThis is a concern we\u2019ve raised for a number of years,\u201d Homendy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The NTSB raised it again this week &#8211; this time after 11 skydivers and a pilot were killed in a crash on Sunday in Butler, Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Investigators said it was too early to speculate on what caused the crash, which occurred shortly after takeoff, but they would be examining factors tied to federal oversight.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The tour operator, Skydive Kansas City, did not immediately respond for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s always frustrating when we see things that the FAA hasn\u2019t acted on with our recommendations and then we continue to see accidents in that arena,\u201d NTSB vice chairman Michael Graham said Monday, echoing his colleague\u2019s message from a year ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The NTSB has complained for years that federal rules treat skydiving planes and many sightseeing aircraft more like private personal planes than commercial airliners, despite carrying paying customers. The same goes for \u201cliving history\u201d flights involving historic aircraft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s a loophole,\u201d said Jeff Guzzetti, a former FAA and NTSB accident investigator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Most people don\u2019t know about it, Guzzetti said. A NTSB report noted that the public is \u201clikely unaware that these operations have less stringent requirements than other commercial aviation operations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The less-stringent safety rules have been blamed for playing a role in many fatal crashes, according to NTSB investigations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In 2018, the NTSB called out the FAA\u2019s \u201cinadequate oversight\u201d after five people were killed when a helicopter used for an aerial photography trip crashed in New York City\u2019s East River.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After 11 people died in a skydiving plane crash in Hawaii in 2019, the NTSB cited \u201cbroader systemic safety issues\u201d with these kinds of flights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A 2021 NTSB report called for the FAA to reevaluate its treatment of air tours, noting there\u2019s \u201ca long history of concerns about the safety\u201d of these flights because they \u201care not held to the same maintenance, airworthiness, and operational standards\u201d as most other air carriers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The report painted an alarming portrait of the safety standards for skydiving and sightseeing flights, saying its investigations of multiple accidents found \u201ca lack of structured pilot training, deficiencies in pilot skills and decision-making, and inadequate aircraft maintenance were occurring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The rules are complicated, but most nonstop commercial air tours are covered by the less-stringent standards if they take off and land in the same location and don\u2019t fly more than 25 miles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The NTSB report suggested changing that rule to require the FAA treat all skydiving and sightseeing aircraft more like small commercial commuter flights. That would mean more frequent and formal oversight of things such as maintenance and training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3185\">Secret vetting and blocked promotions: Inside Hegseth\u2019s war on diversity in US military<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The FAA didn\u2019t immediately address the NTSB\u2019s recommendation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But in 2024, the Senate version of an FAA reauthorization bill included a provision to force the FAA to adopt stricter standards &#8211; which would effectively close the loophole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The aviation industry was alarmed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Eight industry groups &#8211; including the Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association and United States Parachute Association &#8211; warned in a letter to Congress that the Senate provision \u201cwould be nearly impossible and financially unattainable for these small businesses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The proposed rules would \u201cresult in the closure of small aviation businesses without improving safety, and they will deprive the FAA of the resources and manpower needed to address priority issues,\u201d the groups said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They won the fight. The provision was stripped out of the final FAA reauthorization bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But a couple months later, the FAA passed a rule to require safety management systems for more commuter and commercial air tour operators.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And just last month, the FAA launched a rulemaking committee to look at strengthening the pilot-training and maintenance standards for commercial skydiving and sightseeing tours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Parachute Industry Institute President Roberto Montanez, who sits on the rulemaking committee, said the problem is that for small skydiving companies, \u201cyou don\u2019t get a huge safety benefit out of imposing all of the paperwork requirements on them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Montanez said small operators with one or two airplanes don\u2019t present \u201cthe same level of risk\u201d as a major airliner that flies hundreds of people at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But some skydiving and sightseeing companies use the tougher FAA safety rules as a selling point, saying they go beyond what is currently required to what the NTSB has been wanting for years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Island Helicopters, based in Hawaii, says on its website that its qualification for commuter plane certification \u201crequires a higher standard of pilot qualifications and much more oversight for safety by the FAA.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Five Star Helicopters, which offers tours of Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, says its certification is \u201cwhy we stand out\u201d with stricter maintenance schedules and inspections than typical air tours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Joan Camprubi, the brother of Merce Camprubi Montal, who was killed along with her husband and three children aboard that New York sightseeing helicopter, said he hoped the crash in Missouri would spur regulators to take action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe victims of this latest tragedy, like our own family members, deserve more than thoughts and prayers after the fact. They deserve action,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cNo family should have to endure the grief and devastation that follows a preventable aviation accident,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3183\">Game 74: Red Sox at Mariners lineups and notes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investigation officials have complained for years that federal rules treat skydiving planes and many sightseeing aircraft more like private personal planes than commercial airliners, despite carrying paying customers. The same goes for \u201cliving history\u201d flights involving historic aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fatal Missouri skydiving plane crash renews concerns about safety loophole - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3189\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fatal Missouri skydiving plane crash renews concerns about safety loophole - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Investigation officials have complained for years that federal rules treat skydiving planes and many sightseeing aircraft more like private personal planes than commercial airliners, despite carrying paying customers. 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