Nine Killed In Skydiving Crash

A DHC-2 Turbo Beaver crashed shortly after takeoff from Sweden’s Örebro airport on Thursday, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft was carrying a pilot and eight skydivers, all members of a local skydiving club. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven declared a day of mourning for the victims, whose names have not been released to the public.

The aircraft went down shortly before 7:30 p.m. local time. A significant post-crash fire occurred, which was extinguished by firefighters at approximately 8:20 p.m. It is not yet known what might have caused the accident, but it is believed that the aircraft may have experienced a problem during takeoff.

“Something happened in the middle of the runway,” said Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Statens haverikommission/SHK) department chief Peter Swaffer. “The plane didn't get up very high before it went down to the left of the runaway.” SHK has dispatched a team to the crash site to investigate.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.