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Six people, including one child, died in a Piper PA-46 crash near Wisconsin Dells after the pilot reported ice buildup on the wings during a thunderstorm.
Six people, including one child, were killed Tuesday night when a small plane crashed in a wooded area near Mirror Lake State Park in the Town of Dellona, Wisconsin. The aircraft was traveling from Kenosha to Menomonie when it went down shortly before 10 p.m., according to the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the pilot of the six-seat, single-engine Piper PA-46 told an air traffic controller that ice was building up on the wings while the plane was flying at 24,000 feet. The pilot requested permission to descend. Ice accumulation is a significant aviation hazard because even a thin layer can prevent a plane from staying airborne.
Air traffic control approved the descent, and the plane began a right descending turn. The rate of the turn increased until communications and data tracking were lost, according to the NTSB. The crash occurred as a thunderstorm moved through the area, with rain falling at the time.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the NTSB are leading the investigation into the cause of the crash. The Sauk County Sheriff’s Department stated that dispatchers received multiple reports of a downed aircraft around 9:30 p.m. Emergency crews located the wreckage north of Park Lane and west of Herwig Road.
Authorities confirmed that all five adults and one child aboard were found dead at the scene. No structures were damaged, and no injuries were reported on the ground. The identities of the victims have not been released.
The crash site is located about 10 miles west of Wisconsin Dells, a city known for its high concentration of waterparks. State tourism officials said the area drew more than 5 million visitors in 2025. The plane was a fixed-wing Piper Mirage Aircraft, according to UPI, which also noted the crash happened about 40 miles from Madison and 70 miles from Minneapolis.
This incident highlights the dangers of icing conditions for small aircraft, particularly when flying through thunderstorms. The loss of communication during a requested descent underscores the critical nature of weather-related hazards in aviation. The joint investigation by the FAA and NTSB will determine the specific factors that contributed to the crash.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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