Skydiving plane carrying 20 people crashes in Tennessee: US authorities

A plane carrying 20 people crashed in Tennessee, with some taken to the hospital for injuries. Photo / Tennessee Highway Patrol

No one was killed but several people were injured and taken to hospital today when a skydiving plane carrying 20 passengers and crew crashed in the US state of Tennessee, authorities said.

The twin-engine plane used for skydiving expeditions crashed shortly after midday local time in Tullahoma, south of Nashville, according to officials.

“There were no casualties,” city spokesman Lyle Russell said in a statement.

He said a total of 20 passengers and crew were onboard the De Havilland DH-6 Twin Otter when it crashed at the Tullahoma Regional Airport.

“Three were sent for medical treatment via helicopter and one sent by ground transport for more serious injuries to local hospitals,” he said, adding that “other minor injuries were treated by first responders on scene”.

Russell said that “no ground facilities or airport facilities were damaged and there were no injuries reported from the ground”.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the crash, while the Tennessee Highway Patrol said on X that its troopers were assisting police at the scene.

Images posted on social media by the highway patrol showed a small, white plane with blue trim with its nose buried into the grass and its tail and a wing broken off behind it, with police vehicles with flashing lights parked nearby.

- Agence France-Presse