Wisconsin plane crash kills six after pilot reports icing

Six people, including five adults and one child, died Tuesday night following a plane crash in a wooded area near Mirror Lake State Park in Wisconsin. The aircraft, a Piper PA-46 Malibu, was traveling from Kenosha to Menomonie when it went down in the Town of Dellona, near Wisconsin Dells.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the pilot reported encountering icing on the wings while flying at 24,000 feet during a thunderstorm. Although air traffic control approved a request to descend, the aircraft entered a rapid right descending turn, after which all communications and tracking data were lost. Aviation safety experts noted the incident has the characteristics of an icing-related loss of control.

The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that all occupants were found dead at the scene. No injuries were reported on the ground, and no structures were damaged. The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are leading the investigation into the cause of the crash.