‘I was on that plane last weekend’: Topeka skydiver reacts to fatal Missouri plane crash

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Topeka man Chris Phelps knew the passengers killed in Sunday’s Butler, MO., plane crash well.

“I was on that plane last weekend, on that specific plane,” he said.

Phelps has been skydiving 318 times, including several jumps with the late passengers.

“I’ve got friends of mine not only that passed away in the drop zone, but I got friends of mine that were at the drop zone that witnessed it, and they couldn’t do anything,” he said. “From what I understand, the fuel was too hot, and they had to sit there and watch their friends perish.”

He says the friends he’s made skydiving are like family.

“It’s been very rough, you know,” Phelps said. “The skydiving community is a family. We’re a bunch of, I call it, to the people I describe to my friends and family, we’re a bunch of misfits that found a place to fit in.”

And he’s relying on the skydiving community as he grieves Sunday’s incident.

“We’ve been talking to people on the phone, calling or texting and through Facebook, things like that,” Phelps said. “Just kind of be there and support each other, tell stories about each other, everybody that we know.”

Phelps said he could have actually been on the plane with them if not for other plans this weekend.

“My prayers go out to them, for sure,” he said.

Phelps says he plans to continue skydiving, as he calls the crash a plane incident, rather than a skydiving incident.