Montana Crash 14 including 7 Kids Dead

A single-engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12 aircraft has crashed into a cemetery in the US state of Montana, killing 14 people, including several children, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Media reports had initially put the number of dead at 17.

Briefing the media, FAA spokesman, Mike Fergus said the plane crashed some 150 metres from the airport in Butte, Montana, while trying to land on Sunday (local time).

Fergus said initial reports showed that there were a number of children on board the plane.

“We think that it was probably a ski trip for the kids,” he said.

He said the aircraft had departed from Oroville, California, on a scheduled flight to Bozeman but the pilot had cancelled his flight plan at some point and headed for Butte.

Later media reports say FAA investigations into the crash were continuing and confirmed that seven kids were among the dead.

Martha Guidoni, who was at a petrol station across from the cemetery, said the plane “just nose-dived into the ground.”